Looking for ashau in all the wrong places
by Nyotarules
Summary: First a shout out to the fanfic writers who inspire me – Botsey, Pat Foley, Nerdielady (RIP), Notesfromaclassroom, Starquilter57, Startrekfanwriter, Wahoogal and Wildcat7898. Second I am not happy that Admiral Pike was killed off in STID only because I love Bruce Greenwood. He is one of those men who look sexier as they age. So this is me correcting a major canon mistake
1. Chapter 1

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances- Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**June 2259 – Starfleet headquarters, Daystrom Institute**

"Noooo, not now, I don't want to die. Not alone, not like this". Admiral Christopher Pike felt himself getting extremely weak, pain travelled throughout his body. The room was getting darker and darker as he lay on the floor gasping shallowly for oxygen. The thoughts and feelings going through this mind; fear, despair, anger and loneliness.

All of a sudden he felt a voice join him. "You will not die Admiral. I will not let you". He recognised a Vulcan accent.

If Pike could laugh he would have, it seemed God or whatever Deity existed in the afterlife was a logical Vulcan after all, what a joke.

"Not God, Admiral. This is Spock. You are seriously injured. I am stabilising your condition. Medical help will be here momentarily".

Pike's last thought before he succumbed to the darkness. The afterlife was even funnier than he thought, God was not only a Vulcan, He/She/It looked and sounded just like Spock.

**January 2260 – Starfleet General medical hospital, Caribbean campus**

It had been six months or as his consultant Vulcan healer Salas would say six months, three weeks, two days, 45 minutes and 23 seconds since he looked death in the face (again) and won. Pike considered he must be one lucky bastard.

The view from his hospital room was amazing. The Caribbean islands were a beautiful part of the world. A great place for a very, badly injured convalescing admiral. Peaceful, tranquil, sandy beaches, relaxing, what more could a patient want to aide their recovery?

He considered how far he had come in that time. It seemed Spock's mind meld gave him the precious minutes his body needed to avoid succumbing to his fatal injuries. Once the paramedics got to him he was immediately transported to Starfleet medical and placed into stasis. He had extensive nerve damage from phaser shots from a weapon that Starfleet officially did not own but thanks to Admiral Marcus and his handiwork created a weapon even more destructive than the average phaser.

The fallout from that drama was still being played out. Court martials and Federation Parliamentary hearings were still taking place. Thankfully not many senior admirals were involved in the conspiracy. The few that were had been killed at the Daystrom, jailed or 'encouraged' to resign. The other Starfleet personnel were demoted or jailed depending on how large their involvement.

One aspect that came up that media outlets could not stop discussing was how this exposed how too Human dominated the senior command is at Starfleet. Well things were definitely going to change. The present ratio of Starfleet being 62% human and 38% other Federation was not good enough and borderline speciest.

"The politicians would have to sort that one out" considered Pike aloud as he picked up his comm to make his dinner menu selection for the day. Before he could decide whether to choose Cardessian style curried goat or Vulcan vegetable and mango surprise. (It appeared whoever created the hospital menu had a sense of humour) the room's videocomm chimed.

"Greetings Admiral". It was Spock. Pike checked the comm's chronometer 13.00 local time on Earth that made it approximately 18.00 the following day on New Vulcan.

"Hi Spock, how is your vacation going on New Vulcan".

Pike was always happy to speak to him. He held a soft spot for the young Vulcan, ever since he met him as a new recruit all those years ago. The then shy, young man had come a long way. Amanda his friend would be so proud of him. Thinking of her made him feel sadness again for the wasted life and all those other wasted lives which ended prematurely over a year ago. The feeling will never go away.

"It went well, Admiral. However Uhura and I are now on Risa" responded Spock.

"Is this why you are wearing that loud looking Hawaiian shirt" laughed Pike. Only Uhura could get Spock to wear something so colourful.

"She believed it was logical to blend into the culture. An exercise in cultural communication" replied Spock.

Yeah right, thought Pike. He smiled. Spock was so whipped it was as if he had a cat o nine tails stuck to his back

"So why the change from Vulcan to Risa?" asked Pike.

"Kirk" was the answer Spock gave. That said it all thought Pike.

Spock explained since the Enterprise was being reconstructed the crew had been given a long leave of absence after they testified at The Marcus inquiry. Spock and Uhura went to Vulcan after spending time with both their families on Earth. However Kirk also encouraged them to join him at Risa for part of their vacation.

There is something different about him, considered Pike. He looks more at peace with himself or something.

"And how is the indomitable Captain Kirk" laughed Pike. "Hope he is still managing to keep on the right side of the law."

"Captain Kirk is endeavouring to operate at optimal efficiency". Spock's eyes twinkled as he responded. "I believe his friendship with Carol Marcus is having a stabilising influence on him".

"Carol Marcus!" exclaimed Pike in surprise. "Well, well, well wonders never cease. I suppose something decent had to come out of the trials the crew endured for the last six months".

"Indeed" replied Spock. "I also have other pleasing news to impart. Lieutenant Uhura and I will be holding a bonding ceremony at the Vulcan consulate in Nairobi, the month of April on the 23rd day at 14.00. We will be honoured to have your presence."

"Congratulations Spock". Pike beamed. "Good to see you making an honest woman of her before you head to the stars for five years."

"It is said that she is making an honest Vulcan of me". replied Spock humorously.

The two continued to talk until it was time for Spock to leave until his next communication. Both Spock and Kirk made it a habit of calling the Admiral each week to check on his progress ever since they returned to Earth.

Pike was so pleased to see them bonding as not only colleagues but friends. He needed to hear good news despite his own unsettled situation. Starfleet command had given him as long as he needed medical leave since he awoke from his coma. His injuries were such that they required a specialist to deal with his situation.

The Federation's best medical staff were mainly Vulcan but most of them had perished by the hands of Nero's madness. Hence those in the Vulcan Diaspora had to step up to the plate. His consultant Salas was one of few experts left in his field. He was a civilian assigned on temporary assignment to Starfleet since the destruction of the Kelvin Memorial archive. His skills and those of his excellent team prevented the death toll from being even higher than it was in London and at the Daystrom. He even assisted Commander McCoy in Kirk's miraculous recovery from extensive radiation sickness.

After the call Pike sighed. He knew he had plenty of time to recuperate. But being in hospital gave him a lot of time to think. To consider the choices he made in his life. Did he have any regrets? Not really, the only one perhaps was marrying his ex-wife Lisa. They were both young but not truely ready for marriage. Despite 23rd century medicine 'accidents' still happened and Lisa got pregnant when they were both 21 and studying at Starfleet. There was no stigma to their situation but Pike was traditional in some ways and wanted to 'do the right thing'. However at five months Lisa miscarried and over time she felt that she was trapped in a marriage that might have never happened if not for the baby. So young cadet Chris Pike despite wanting to make a go of things and have the long happy marriage his parents experienced granted her wish for a divorce. The marriage had lasted 10 months. Ever since then Pike had relationships when he could, he was not a player but he was not a celibate monk either. He was discreet in his dealings but never managed to find his 'One'.

Perhaps he was too old for wife, children and the white picket fence even if he was in his prime at almost 55 years old. As long as he stayed away from alien mad men or vengeful augmented humans he had at least another 100 years to go. So was it too soon to think about retirement, should he use the opportunity to start a new life without Starfleet? He had experienced more drama as a Starfleet officer in the last two years than all his 33 years of service.

Pike picked his menu option. The Vulcan vegetable and mango surprise would help keep his weight down. He made his choice and decided to make the most of another day sitting on the beach in Paradise. Questions about retirement and Starfleet could wait. The hospital grounds bordered on the beach, time for some Vitamin D therapy courtesy of the hot Caribbean sun.

**Reviews are a fanfic writers only payment and only critique. Let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Spock Prime, Sarek, Kirk, Spock, and Uhura

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Author's notes: - In this AU only Vulcan males experience the hormonal imbalance that dare not speak its name. In TOS T'Pring did not look like she was experiencing any hot flushes in 'Amok Time' maybe because Spock was not Stonn? ;o)**

**London, England August 2260**

"Your usual Miss Seria?" Winston asked one of his regular lunch time customers. As he eyed her with a cheeky smile, he gave the Vulcan beauty admiring glances. He recalled the day he asked her out the first time she entered his food outlet. Seria had kindly rebuffed him but ever since then she frequented his establishment twice a week for her rice and peas, vegetable curry, coconut cake and peanut punch from the Caribbean restaurant 'Shades'.

For a Vulcan she had a good appetite. The Vulcans who came to Winston's restaurant tended to choose the hot and spicy options but always ordered the small size dinners, Guinness punch (well they never got drunk) but never any of the cakes, always a fruit instead. Not Miss Seria, it was either medium or large for her and a slice of cake was always included in her takeaway request.

Not that he had many Vulcan customers these days, most of them had moved to the new colony in 2259. What was known by local Londoners as 'Vulcan Town' in Hoxton due to the number of London based Vulcans living in the area hardly had any Vulcans since Nero's madness.

"Yes, thank you Winston, however this time I will take one small dinner and one large". Seria took out her padd to scan the bill register to make her payment. She could see his head make an about turn as he prepared her order. For Seria being a Vulcan the change in her lunch order routine was a big thing.

"I am meeting my mother for lunch in Hoxton Square The small dinner is for her the large dinner is for me". Seria gave a slight smile, only those familiar with her facial expressions would see it. And since she had been frequenting 'Shades' for four years Winston knew her tell. He laughed knowing she had no reason to explain herself but they often managed to have a chat every time Seria came into the restaurant. However today would be different since she had a lunch date with her mother.

Seria stepped out into the afternoon sunshine. London was enjoying a heat wave, it was very humid at 31C/87.8F. She appreciated the mild temperatures, well mild for her since being a Vulcan, technically a Human/Vulcan hybrid, 31C was not hot, for her it was 'wear a jacket' climate.

Everyone else however was stripped down to their summer office clothes in the London sunshine. Making the most of the country's long, hot summer. England's reputation for always having a chance of rain was funny but mythical. Twenty third century weather control equipment gave the nation a decent and predictable summer which would make their twentieth century ancestors green with envy.

Since First contact humanity had a lot to give thanks to offworlders for, especially the Vulcans, one of the many things being how to deal with the weather. Natural disasters still happened, though less frequently. Famine and drought leading to starvation was a thing of the past. In fact the African continent, once home to humanity's poorest boasted some of the richest regions on Earth, 'The new USA' it was called for the last 100 years. If one wanted even more economic opportunity than they already had, off to Africa you went.

"Seria my darling there you are" exclaimed Rachel Maxwell-Kril'es chan. "What goodies did you buy?" Rachel took the bag her daughter handed her and sat on the park bench.

"The 'goodies' are the same as mine ko-mekh, rice with peas and curried vegetables". Seria looked at her mother checking out her lunch box as if something was missing.

"What, no jerk chicken! You know I like to sneak a piece of the flesh when your father is not around." Rachel gave a fake sulk as she pushed out her bottom lip.

"I believe Sa-mekh would respond the only 'flesh' you should be enjoying is his own." Seria replied with a slight smirk.

"Seria", Rachel pushed her daughter, of course she did not budge being a lot stronger than her. "All these years being married to your father and I still blush when Vulcans talk so matter of fact about 'that'.

"Physical intimacy amongst bonded couples is nothing to be ashamed of ko-mekh. Vulcans celebrate it". responded Seria.

"I know that, but it's not something human parents talk openly with their children about, well not adult to adult. Humans want their kids to believe they were cloned, had IVF or only had sex to produce them." Rachel made the remark as if it made total sense.

"So illogical". Seria shook her head and stifled the smile threatening to form and started eating her lunch instead.

They both ate their food in silence, so accustomed to Vulcan eating habits in their household, even outside amongst a group of mostly humans. After eating and disposing of their lunch cartons, Rachel turned the question to more personal matters.

"So Seria you have decided to go ahead with it"? asked Rachel.

"Yes mother" sighed Seria, "It has been twenty months, two weeks and four days to the day the Vulcan High council 'encouraged' all unbonded diaspora Vulcans to register their status".

"I thought you weren't too keen on registering." Rachel knew once the advice had been issued Seria made it known she would ignore the edict despite her father stating that it was logical to do her part to aid the Vulcan people during this difficult time.

"I can aid them in other ways" was her response. "Even Krie T'shea refuses to register".

"Krie T'shea is officially registered V'tosh katur." Salas replied. "I am also considered V'tosh katur by the clan however I am already bonded so I would not be expected to register".

The debate between father and daughter though not serious cropped up from time to time. Up to now Seria had stood her ground so what made her change her mind?

"And the reason for the change now is?" asked Rachel.

"I meditated and realised my resistance was based on my own response to what happened to father. I decided it was illogical to hold the Vulcan culture responsible for what a few small minded people in the clan did to him and Krie T'shea. I have faced my prejudice and dealt with it". Seria whispered her reply to her mother.

Rachel held out her hands and clasped Seria by the wrist in the Vulcan familial embrace. The story of how Salas had been declared 'V'tosh katur' when he insisted on marriage to her and not the high class Vulcan woman his clan matriarch wanted was not a happy one. Seria knew most of the story, but Rachel did not realise her daughter had taken it to heart as a personal affront against her and her parents.

Maat Kril'es chan was an old one, they would never admit it but they took pride in being one of the first clans to embrace the Surak philosophy. They were a high clan, wealthy and respected in Vulcan society, always held a seat on the council. Vulcan aristocracy for want of a better term and embraced all its customs including the Telan t'Kanlar – child bondings at age seven. If they had one disadvantage it was producing a higher than average number of boys. Clans who produced mainly girls were in a better position to choose the best bond mates for girls had no 'biological imperative' to deal with.

Salas adun'a T'Prisa died in a shuttle traffic accident when they were both 52. He was devastated, even a trip to Gol seemed to do little to heal his mental state. His family thought a change of scenery might help and approved his decision to move to Betazed. They had excellent counselors, some of their therapy treatments were more effective.

However after a few years he received the opportunity to head up a medical research center on Terra where his reputation for being an excellent scientist as well as medical doctor flourished.

Being on Earth he renewed his relationship with his first cousin T'shea who was outcast from the clan. Salas never agreed with the ruling but since he was a minor clan member he had no say in the matter. Living on Terra he considered it illogical to ignore her. It was at a dinner party held by his cousin in London that he was introduced to Rachel Edwards – Maxwell. For him it was shan'hal'lak, no power in the Alpha quadrant Vulcan or otherwise was going to keep him away. He set out to court her like a lematya stalking her prey and despite a few committed cultural faux pas Salas won his prize. His clan matriarch strongly disapproved. They had checked out the Edwards-Maxwell household and found them to be an average human family not high status. Mixed marriages were fine for non high born Vulcans or isolated offworld Vulcans but not for them.

Rachel and Seria sat and talked in the sunshine. Seria had taken a long lunch break, being one of the partners at the architectural firm Lewis Maxwell and associates had it perks. Her mother was visiting her from the Caribbean for a long weekend. It had been a year since they had been together this way. Seria made it a habit to visit them every year but she had been so busy this past year they had to make do with video comm calls. For Rachel videocomm calls and Vulcan familial bonds were not enough so she booked an international transporter to London for a long weekend despite her dislike of the damn things.

Rachel looked at her daughter and attempted to let Seria see the positive side of her decision.

"Well you might meet someone as charming as your father. He eventually swept me off my feet. To be honest if everyone knew how satisfying it is to be married to a Vulcan the High council would have no need to issue edicts to us non V'tosh". Rachel laughed and squeezed Seria's wrist.

"You may be correct in this ko-mekh". replied Seria. "Salas is a hard act to follow and if my future bond mate meets his approval than I will need not be concerned. Any Vulcan that is open minded enough to bond with a Vulcan hybrid will be worth dealing with".

Seria looked at her mother and decided perhaps her decision to register at the London Vulcan consulate might be the right one after all.

**Reviews are the only payment I require. **


	3. Chapter 3

Characters – Pike/OC, Gaila; cameo appearances – Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Author's notes: I had not planned this in my outline but I decided to bring Gaila into the story. She will not be Pike's love interest but I love the character and since the official website of the film says she is still alive then still alive she will be! After all who better to bring two clueless people together than Gaila!**

**March 2263 – San Francisco, Starfleet, Strategic Operations Division**

Lieutenant Gaila needed to have sex. It had been a long time, around 2 weeks since she chose to swap bodily fluids with a consensual, compatible sentient being. And for an Orion female even one taking suppressants for her pheromones, two weeks might as well have been two years!

It did not help that she worked for one sexy man. And Admiral Pike, may the Goddess Clitora forgive her, was one such a man. Ok he was only 1.80 metres tall (5 feet, 11 inches). Just shy of her 'a male must be 6 feet and over before she sexed him up to Orion heaven' limit. But she just knew he would be worth it. Who knew that older men, with grey hair would make her vay jay jay (Old English had such illogical but wonderful slang words for genitals) tingle every time she saw him. Well time to get back to work and prepare for the meeting with said boss.

It had been an extraordinary five years since 'Nero's madness' as it was known in the vernacular. Gaila had high hopes of being a techno engineer on a starship but the Battle of Vulcan put paid to that. After barely escaping with her life, Gaila and some of her USS Farragut crewmates rammed into a shuttle pod, hid behind T'Kuht for as long as possible and headed for Earth. Out of a crew complement of 250 only 17 survived.

The experience left them and many other cadets severely traumatised. Some despite doing their best to remain in Starfleet had to leave and were honourably discharged due to extreme PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Gaila was one of the fortunate ones but her experience left her unable to board a shuttle or starship to head out into space. Severe space aviophobia- how ironic!

However Starfleet had no desire to lose her skills. Anyone who could create a subroutine (even in ignorance of its use) to hack into the _Kobayashi Maru_ test deserved to be helped. So Gaila was sent to psychotherapy and offered a posting at Starfleet headquarters. Sadly it meant saying good bye to her best friend Nyota Uhura when the USS Enterprise headed out for her five year mission in 2260. But as Nyota reminded her "think of all those gorgeous officers at HQ".

The then Ensign Gaila was now a Lieutenant (junior grade), one of the aides to Admiral Pike specialising in technology at Starfleet Strategic Operations. She loved her job and she lusted after her boss, life was perfect.

Meanwhile the object of Gaila's lusty affections, had a decision to make. Admiral Pike had spent the last few days in meetings with Fleet Admiral Nogura and the Vulcan Defence Minister Selek. He could not put his finger on it but there was something about the Minister. Not only did he look familiar but he seemed less stoic, friendlier than the Vulcans he usually came across. Salas the specialist healer, who treated him four years ago, had a welcoming attitude for a Vulcan, maybe because he was married to a human woman. But this particular one seemed to possess almost humanlike qualities.

Pike sighed, maybe he was more tired than he thought and was seeing things. After all he had spent most of the night speaking to his sister and his parents over the offer that he had been given, it was one of those prestigious offers you could not refuse career wise.

Something that Starfleet had been after since the Federation began in 2165. Getting the Vulcans to agree to a Starfleet base on their planet had now come to fruition. Prior to 2258 Vulcan had no need of one; it had its own strong Vulcan Defence Force. The existence of a base would have been nothing more than a political gesture to please the politicians. Besides influential elders such as T'Pau and Sarek killed the idea whenever it cropped up.

However those days were over. What remained of the Vulcan Defence Force was nothing more than a memory. That advanced and well respected fleet lost 95% of its contingent during the Battle of Vulcan. What was left was not going to be enough to defend the new homeworld and the rest of the Vulcan colonies.

So the elders that remained bowed to the logic of the situation and sent Minister Selek to formally make the request for a Starfleet base. It seemed Minister Selek was very familiar with Admiral Pike's career and after the shameful Marcus episode recognised that Pike was a human Vulcan could trust.

The move to Vulcan would mean a promotion to Vice Admiral, being in charge of overseeing the building of the base, being in charge of the defence of the Vulcan sector of the Federation, working with whatever Vulcan military were left and helping them to rebuild.

Three years ago he had considered retiring for a quiet life but he knew deep down he was not ready to throw in the towel. He was only 58 years old and had many more years to give to the fleet. Look at Admiral Archer the old man was still going, even at 151 years old. He even came out of retirement and showed up at HQ twice a week to make sure the Fleet did not go crazy again as it almost did under 'Mad hatter Marcus' (it was rumoured Archer had never liked him).

Well Pike did join Starfleet for adventure and what was more adventurous than helping an offworld society rebuild its defence from scratch? So time to go where no Pike had gone before – the Vulcan sector!

**Author's notes – When I started this chapter I did not expect so much narrative. I wanted more dialogue but this chapter called for the former. Also if I have the admiral rankings incorrect please let me know. Forgot to add in this AU humans are stronger and live longer than their Prime counterparts since genetic engineering was never declared illegal in my AU but is strictly controlled. So present humanity are semi augmented descendants of the society (the good guys) who survived the Eugenic wars and defeated Khan and his ilk. **

**Reviews are welcomed**


	4. Chapter 4

Characters – Pike/OC, Gaila; cameo appearances – Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**April 2263 – London, England**

Grell checked the time on his comm. It was 5.50pm, another ten minutes before it was officially time to head off for a soak in the local mud bath sauna made popular by the Tellarites who lived in London.

He really liked his job, as Executive Assistant to Seria Maxwell, one of the city's if not the nations up and coming architects. Although he would never admit to it, he was his father's son after all. Trav the Tellar who enjoyed nothing more than a good old bar fight at the pub he owned and managed, 'The Lucky Swine'. No wonder his mother's human family almost fainted the day she brought her porcine faced boyfriend home. Well that was almost 31 years ago and they were still together, living as happy as well pigs in mud..(**author- yeah, pun intended**).

"Call from Vulcan consulate, Knightsbridge, do you accept?" chimed the videocomm.

"Shucks what do they want?" groaned Grell.

"Call from Vulcan consulate, Knightsbridge, do you accept?" repeated the videocomm.

"Yes!" shouted Grell, "Call accepted".

The comm screen revealed a blank faced, male Vulcan. Well they all looked blank faced thought Grell except for Seria, and her father Dr Salas, they looked beautifully solemn. Grell stopped his musing and turned his attention to the screen.

"Lewis Maxwell and associates, what do you require"?

Grell had enough half human manners in his DNA to not chase human clients away. Thankfully Vulcans were just as straight to the point as Tellarites and did not dally in irrelevant niceties.

"The Vulcan ministry of Defence, requests a meeting with Seria Maxwell-Kril'es chan and Shayla Lewis" replied the Vulcan face.

"I'll check their calendar". Grell looked up the meeting schedule and not surprisingly the week was pretty full. However he recognised a call from the Vulcan Defence ministry was not to be taken lightly. He knew Vulcans operated on a longer working day since they slept less often so he figured an 8.00 am meeting would be early enough for his bosses since Shayla was an early riser as well.

"Wednesday 8.00am to 10am this week is available" responded Grell.

"That is agreeable", said Vulcan face and signed off.

"And a good afternoon and goodbye to you as well", Grell rolled his eyes at the now blank screen.

He rose from his seat and headed into Seria's office. Her business partner was on leave for the day so her office seemed so quiet without hearing Shayla's exuberant voice and Seria's quiet one.

"Just had a call from the Vulcan consulate, the defence department wants a meeting with the firm, I set you up for this week Wednesday. Details on your calendar. I'm outta here, a mud bath awaits me" grumbled Grell.

Seria looked up from her calendar checking the details as Grell spoke.

Her friends never understood having Grell as her Executive Assistant. Did he not spend the day moaning, arguing, debating and moaning again? After admonishing said friends for their stereotypical views even when they held a smidgen of truth. She was more than willing to sing his praises. He came highly qualified and was a very good and able Executive Assistant. No one messed with Grell, he looked more like a body guard with this stocky 6 foot 1 frame, very tall for a Tellarite and his snout nose but the rest of his features were all human. His dark afro hair stood in contrast to his golden, leathery skin. An interesting combination of his short, dark brown Tellarite father and tall, pale, blonde haired human mother. Tellarites being descendants of porcines in the evolutionary chain human and porcine DNA were pretty closely matched and required little medical intervention to sexually reproduce.

"Which venue are you testing this time Grell"? asked Seria. She knew he was on a quest to find the best mud bath saunas in London and do a write up on The London Tellar News blog.

"Why are you asking, do you know of better ones than the ones I've tried so far"? responded Grell suspiciously.

"Well, I have heard that there is new place on the King's Road in Chelsea called 'Mississippi mud slide'. The mud comes in different flavours and is meant to be edible as well as warm for soaking. It sounds fascinating" replied Seria. "It is a venue Shayla and I are planning to visit".

"Good, well I will check it out, then. I was going to the YMCA in Dalston. I heard they have a cheap one but its not too bad for the price. The Chelsea place might have a better class of ladies frequenting". Grell smiled cheekily, yes he had a snout for a nose but he could still charm the ladies no matter what species they were.

Seria almost laughed out loud. Wait till she spoke to Shayla about Grell and his method of picking up ladies in mud baths.

After Grell left she returned to the details of the meeting with the Vulcan consulate. What would the defence department want? Lewis Maxwell and associates had recently designed a new section of the starbase at Jupitar station but had very few defence contracts. Most of their clients were civilian companies. They were a fairly new firm so were not in a position to tender for new business when the new Vulcan colony began. The office had just opened the same year.

Seria sent a message to Shayla so they could have a meeting when she returned to the office. Her internal chrom told her it was 6.32pm, all of her employees had gone for the day. It was time for her to head home or perhaps attend another global net Vulcan meetup. Since she made the decision to register her unbonded status, two years and eight months ago, she had made half hearted attempts to meet a few 'eligible' Vulcan males. Some of them declined her offer once they realised her mother was human. After all it was not logical for them when their numbers were so decimated to intermarry was the response. As if 130,449,258 Vulcans plus the 15,268 who survived the Xenocide was a complete decimation. Sure it meant only 2.13% of Vulcanoids existed in the quadrant but it was more than enough to rebuild and repopulate a new home world. The last census, taken and these days they were taken every two years rather than every 20 years for obvious reasons showed 15,560,328 Vulcans had moved to the new home world T'Khasi Uzhau – Vulcan renewed or New Vulcan as it was called in Standard English.

Other Vulcan males were not so bad, some seemed too eager once they heard her clan name. Most High clans on the home world had been wiped out so the few that were left had even higher status than before or so it seemed.

There was one male that seemed interesting on paper. His name was Tayver, from the Nisus colony, considered the most liberal of the Vulcan planets. He was a healer based at the Paris consulate and once worked with her father. It would be logical to speak to Sa'mekh and see what his thoughts were on this Tayver.

Perhaps 'socialising' with other Vulcans was a good idea after all, at least it would get her to practise her Vulcanir and put her in 'meet the logical Vulcans' mood for Wednesday.

**Author's notes – Ok I am not taking the view there are 10,000 Vulcans left in the reboot Star Trek universe. Does not make sense for a space faring species with colonies to not have a small percentage of its population leave the homeworld . Even a small percentage of 6 billion is still a good millions of beings.**

**I will try and get Pike and Seria to meet soon, maybe in the next chapter after this. I want to get the romance going! Shall I do love at first sight or slow burn?**

**Thanks to writer Jean Lorrah for the planet Nisus, it is mentioned in 'The Vulcan Academy murders' and 'The IDIC Epidemic', great books check them out.**

**Reviews are a dish best served on fanfiction.**


	5. Chapter 5

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Author's notes: I was asked if Admiral Pike knows who Selek is. In this AU up to this point all Pike knows is that a future insane Romulan accidentally came back in time and wanted vengeance against the Federation and an old Vulcan man tried to stop him and failed. **

**Tuesday 30 April 2263 – Gatwick Galactic Spaceport, England**

The use of transporter technology on earth was almost hundred years old but mainly used by the military; such as Earth Defence Forces and Starfleet crew and their families. Civilian organisations such as large companies, national governments, diplomats, Federation Council members and civil servants. And anyone else wealthy enough to afford the cost. It was the ultimate method of First Class travel, first you were in one part of the world and moments later you were in another.

Sure flying by aeroshuttle was a lot quicker than it used to be. A direct trip from London to New York took 4.7 hours instead of the 7.5 hours on an ancient aeroplane. But flying in those tin cans by the seat of your pants, Christopher Pike wished he could experience those old days of three centuries ago. When he was a lot younger he and a group of friends saved their credits and hired one of those airplanes and took a trip across North America. Those were the days.

Now here he was beamed from San Francisco to England on Starfleet business musing about ancient modes of travel and all done before you could say 'Congratulations on your pending promotion Admiral Christopher Bruce Pike and your new assignment'. … in Klingonese.

He arrived at the Diplomatic lounge where two Vulcan diplomats awaited his arrival, Servik and T'Lena plus their security escort.

"Welcome to England, Admiral Pike". Servik raised his hand and greeted the Admiral in the traditional ta'al.

"_Sochya eh dif_" responded Pike whilst raising his right hand to return the Vulcan hand greeting. He had been practising for weeks to get it right.

T'Lena, Servik's bondmate was impressed but did not show it. Pike's effort to speak the greeting in Vulcan and not mangle his pronunciation made a change from what she usually heard of a North American accent when they spoke Vulcan Standard. They had been assigned to Earth for twenty three years. Getting the Palace of St James post was not on a Vulcan diplomats top ten places to live even if iLondon was the third most galactic city on the planet. The 'too cold for Vulcans' weather made all the difference and today it was raining. April showers the locals called it…too much precipitation was how T'Lena considered it. This planet had so much water 70% of it and for her not enough hot sun. However after twelve years England had grown on her, after all they chose to stay and not depart to the new homeworld.

"The ground transport is this way Admiral". Pike had requested a beam in to the spaceport rather than the Vulcan consulate since it had been some years since he travelled to the British Isles and wanted to see a few sights even it was just from a ground car. He could tell the Vulcans considered his request illogical, but he was human so what else did they expect?

" Minister Selek will meet you at the consulate. He has arranged an informal breakfast meeting" T'Lena continued.

"Thank you" responded Pike. It was 6.45am in the morning, and Pike was tired. He had taken an antijetlag shot before the beam out. But it took his body a little while to adjust to it.

"You are welcome Admiral. We are also willing to arrange a tour of London if time permits".

"Looking forward to that, it's been awhile since I've visited this part of the world. The countryside is so lush and beautiful".

"It does have its aesthetic appeal despite the low temperatures" replied Servik.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence. Pike remembered Vulcans were not big on small talk and only used it for 'logical reasons'. He decided to use the opportunity to review notes on his PADD and send instructions to Lieutenant Gaila and the rest of his staff. As well as admire the view as the car drove on the English roads. The trip to Knightsbridge was not too busy; rush hour had not yet begun. Before long he was headed to an office to meet Minister Selek.

**Vulcan consulate, Knightsbridge, London**

Spock Prime looked out the window of the office. He was debating with himself. Ever since he arrived in this universe and saw Christopher Pike he was full of questions. Should he tell him who he really was, should he warn him about his possible future? However things in this reality were turning out a lot differently than he expected. For a start this was not a return to his past that was screwed up by the destruction of the USS Kelvin, this was an alternate universe. Not only were they having a different present and more likely a different future but they had a different past as well.

For a start this version of Earth still had humped back whales in its seas (Thank Surak!). Had not completely banned genetic engineering, so by now most if not all humans were semi augments and made their counterparts in his reality look like puny weaklings. They were stronger, aged slower, lived longer, more intelligent, moved faster. But just as illogical! Vulcans here were not three times stronger only one and a half times stronger. It probably explained why there were more mixed race marriages between Vulcans and humans and humans and other beings in this reality since medical sexual reproduction techniques were more advanced but still costly.

"Admiral Pike is here Minister" his aide Tevin, unknowingly disturbed his trip down Memory Lane or rather Alternate universe Memory Lane.

Spock Prime turned to once again meet his old friend and mentor. Before others were around when they first 'officially' met, this time they would be alone. (**Author – from now Spock Prime will be refered to as Selek)**

"Greetings Admiral Pike, I hope your journey was uneventful".

Minister Selek held out his hand to greet Pike in the western human manner.

The Admiral looked down in surprise but returned the handshake.

"Yes thanks, apart from a little jetlag which will wear off soon"

"Coffee and cheese bagels"? asked the minister as he led Pike over to a table where lay breakfast.

"Great, thanks just what I like to eat first thing in the morning" Pike beamed.

The two men settled down to eat, each with his own thoughts. After breakfast Pike turned to the reason why he came the day before he was due to meet the architects.

"I must admit, I was expecting more members of the Vulcan defence committee to be here. I was hoping to meet Commander Stolek" Pike was ready to get down to business.

"He will be here later, but there was something I wanted to discuss with your privately, Admiral". Selek decided there and then to put his mind at rest. He had made sure that any listening devices in the room were scrambled.

"Tell me Admiral how much do you know about the reasons Nero destroyed Vulcan"? Selek sat back in his seat hands together, face as if in deep thought.

The question threw Pike, he was not expecting this conversation at all, what did this have to do with building a starbase on New Vulcan?

"I know an insane Romulan came from the future pissed off at the Federation and the bastard tried to kill anyone in his path, and that some old Vulcan man was kidnapped in the process. Thankfully he was stopped". Pike really did not want to go into details about what happened on that day.

"What do you know of that 'old Vulcan man' Admiral"?

"I've heard the rumours that he came from the future as well but Starfleet intelligence put a tight lid on that one. I wonder what happened to the guy, hope he did not conveniently disappear under Marcus rule.

"No thankfully, I did not" Selek returned with a tone of amusement.

Pike jerked back startled, "What, the…that was you, is this a poor attempt at humour Minister"?

"Sadly, nothing of the sort" replied Selek. "Let me tell you about myself"….

Selek started from the beginning, telling about his life, his career in Starfleet, his friendship with Captain Christopher Pike, and the rest of the Enterprise crew.

Afterwards Pike sat back, mouth open in shock, the familiar feeling he had when he first met this man, it all made sense. He had so many questions. But the only thing he could think to say after such a revelation was

"What the fuck"….

Yes, thought Spock Prime now known as Selek, what the fuck indeed.

**Author's notes – Sorry readers I had to get these guys to meet as soon as possible. I did not want Admiral Pike going to New Vulcan and working closely with Spock Prime totally ignorant. Next chapter Pike and Seria meet at last!**


	6. Chapter 6

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Wednesday 1 May 2263 – Lewis Maxwell and Associates office, near London bridge**

Shayla and Seria arrived early at their offices at 7.30am, a full 30 minutes before the meeting with the Vulcan Defence ministry team.

They had spent the previous day reading information on the galactic nets about the key personnel; Minister Selek, Admiral Pike and Commander Stolek.

"I hope my quarter Betazoid hormones can handle such sexy looking men" beamed Shayla. "At my age the Phase can come any moment you know". She joked winking at Seria.

"The chances of you developing the Phase at only 40 years old are 0.01% even for someone with a Betazoid grandfather" smirked Seria

"Oh you and your odds, tell me the odds of them coming to our offices to discuss redesigning the Vulcan consulate."

"85.3" responded Seria. "The other 10.70 is the probability of them offering us work somewhere else".

"And the other 4%"? asked Shayla.

"The probability of them coming to ask us for a date" joked Seria.

"Well I'd say yes to that!" laughed Shayla. "After all you are looking for Mr Vulcan right, how is that going"?

"Slow but promising. I spoke to samekh on Monday about a prospect named Tayver. He's based in Paris, but spent some months working with him and they had a good working relationship. He even dined with my parents and was very respectful and cordial to my mother. So he passes the IDIC test".

Shayla was glad for her friend. Being of mixed heritage herself she knew how important it was that any relationship they had appreciated all aspects of her. Living on Earth, especially in London it was easy to find lots of beings of mixed heritage. However it was rare but one did meet the odd ignoramus who either treated their background like a sexual fetish or thought hybrids were taking over the galaxy.

Being only quarter Betazoid and the rest Human the only physical sign of her 'otherness' were her black irises. Even that did not mean anything in a world where some folks wore all sorts of crazy coloured contact lenses as a fashion statement.

However with Shayla she had the stamp of her father's people all over her face. The only physical feature from her human mother was her smile, 5 foot, four inches stature and her sexy as hell curvy body. Even unbonded Vulcans took a subtle peek when they thought no one was looking.

They looked up as the door opened with Grell in tow. It was 7.45am.

"Morning L&M. Ready to face the sons of Surak" joked Grell

Shayla laughed at his joke, Seria smiled. Yes they were ready, they even had food tongs, plates, Vulcan herbal tea, fruits and kreyla biscuits laid out for breakfast. Along with cashew nut cookies, Seria told them 'Trust me Vulcans like, cookies they 'appreciate the texture' as my father likes to say'.

Grell prepared the meeting room with the relevant items; it was still early for the rest of the staff to arrive. Most employees turned up between 8.30am and 9.00am even with a flexible time schedule.

Right on the dot at 8am the videocomm from the security in the building chimed.

"Minister Selek, Commander Stolek and Admiral Pike for the Lewis Maxwell offices"

"Thanks, Denny, I'll be down to get them" Grell left the meeting room and went to get the VIPs. He hoped Vulcan security stayed downstairs, yesterday they arrived to check out the place as if a bunch of architects and office workers were a threat to them. Oh well he supposed they were only doing they job, even if they did it too well.

Admiral Pike looked around the offices of Lewis Maxwell and associates. He wondered if they had a hand in its design since the building was very modern and looked like it could win awards. He had read about them, they came highly recommended. He admitted they did excellent work on the Jupiter station but they did not have vast experience with designing buildings for the defence sector.

The Minister seemed happy, no content to use them. Talking about the Minister he was still reeling from the shock of what he was told yesterday. This was his young friend Spock but a much older version. Not only older but from a different universe! After the official meeting with the Defence team, Selek and Pike met that evening and continued to converse late into the night. He understood 'his' Spock, Kirk and the rest had to sign a special Military Official secrets document on pain of court martial and prison if they broke the agreement. Hence the reason for them not revealing this amazing information. The Admiral could understand why, if he was Marcus he would insist on the same thing.

As he continued his musings he looked up as the door opened and the architects they were due to meet entered the room. His gaze fell upon a beautiful face, light brown eyes, full lips, chocolate brown skin, hair piled high on her head, styled in locs, a popular style for black women. She was obviously Vulcan with those ears and eyebrows but not very tall, she looked to be 1.63m. She seemed to have legs that an athlete would envy and a very generous bosom. Down boy what is wrong with you, you never objectify women at their place of work?

Pike shook his head, seems his libido was telling him he needed to get laid. It had been awhile, since he was so busy. It was time for him to take out his little black PADD and reacquaint himself with a lady friend. Either that or play slap the pink salami…. Again.

Seria Maxwell- Kreel Is Shan, he believed her name is walked towards him and shook his hand.

"Good morning Admiral Pike, welcome Minister Selek and Commander Stolek. Please be seated". Seria warmly greeted all three of them.

Pike responded Good morning as the other partner in the duo Shayla Lewis walked behind her. Where Seria was short and curvy, Shayla was tall and slender, 1.78m, pale skin, red hair with black eyes (unusual combination thought Pike). Technically Shayla was more his type but his body kept responding to the other one. Even if she did look like she was only 25, it was hard to tell with Vulcans, they aged a lot slower, she could be 60 for all he knew.

Pike glanced at the other males to see if he was being a typical human male in his response to the women. Well Commander Stolek was already married so that ruled him out, the ladies could be stark naked in front of him and he would not be affected. Spock ..no Minister Selek was single, and from what he told him had plans to find a suitable Vulcan female to marry. He was over 160 years old but the little Pike knew about Vulcan male sexuality they had a higher libido as they aged hiding under all that logic. If Selek had a thing for younger women, Pike would not stand a chance. Er what was he thinking chance for what? He was here to work. Sigh…if he did not know any better he would swear Gaila was in the room releasing her pheromones.

The meeting continued as Pike mused, good thing he could multitask, he had a few questions and concerns about using this team for designing the starbase. The main one being the lack of experience. He did not understand why the Vulcans did not put such an important task out to tender. They did with all their other construction projects.

Meanwhile Seria once she realised the reason behind the meeting. Designing a new Starfleet based on _T'Khasi Uzhar! _She did her best to contain her excitement. She could tell Shayla was dying to say 'yes we'll take the contract where do we sign'! Not only was it a very financially lucrative contract but it would raise their profile extremely high on a galactic scale. If the Vulcans chose you to do something then everyone knew you had to be great since they only chose the best. The positive reputation alone led to more business.

But it seemed this Admiral Pike had his doubts about them. When Seria entered the room, her attention turned to Commander Stolek, tall, dark and handsome just the way she liked her men. She knew he was bonded. When she decided to register her status her father did his best to help by sending her a list of eligible Vulcan males he believed would be suitable. Seria remembered seeing the name Commander Stolek Ys-Fing two years ago, but six months later his profile listed him as deleted. This meant he was either dead or bonded. Turned out the latter was the case.

Minister Selek, now he reminded her of one of her professors at the Cochrane- Mississippi Institute of Technology. He had a kind face and treated all his students like a kindly uncle.

But this Admiral Pike despite looking at her as if she was breakfast, lunch and dinner spent most of the meeting giving a 'can they really do this attitude'. She found him annoying; sure he had that gravelly experienced look about him, as if he knew his way around a woman's body, even if he was over 50. Gosh she really needed to start dating soon, she better get in touch with Tayver this evening. She could only hope he, being from Nisus, found it logical to test sexual compatibility before bonding. Assuming they found each other suitable.

Seria recognised to get this project they really needed the confidence of Starfleet as well as the Vulcan government. So she decided to make a proposal.

"Minister Selek, Admiral, Commander. I suggest Shayla and myself prepare a draft for your attention. We can meet again in approximately 14 days' time either here, at the consulate or at the Admiral's office. If the Admiral is dissatisfied with what is presented then we can take it from there. We would prefer to have the backing of all three of you."

"I concur" said Shayla. They both knew from experience for a project to be successful they needed the complete backing of all in the client's team.

"That would be agreeable" responded Commander Stolek. He also did not understand why Minister Selek chose this new firm without a tender. It seemed the Minister had a lot of clout in the government for some reason. But so far whatever he proposed was the best for Vulcan and Vulcan needed the best.

"Sure, fine by me" replied Admiral Pike. Gives me two weeks to spend time with someone and get my itch thoroughly scratched thought Pike.

All parties agreed to the next meeting time and place, Tuesday May 14th San Francisco 2pm.

'Great', thought Shayla, 'a trip to San Francisco'.

'Damn, late nights in the office' – moaned Grell once he was told

'Starfleet Headquarters, into the belly of the beast' – was Seria's opinion.

**AN: I wanted sparks to fly between the two, not sure I conveyed that but I tried. **

**Reviews are my only payment**


	7. Chapter 7

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Tuesday 14 May 2263 – San Francisco, Starfleet, Strategic Operations Division, Admiral Pike's office**

Lieutenant Gaila stretched her body as she sat in her seat. There was nothing like an afternoon delight to make the working day even better. It beat going to the gym. If one was going to get all hot and sweaty then why not be doing something more interesting than running on a treadmill, Andorian marital arts or kickboxing? They had their place but combine them with the horizontal rumba and you burnt even more calories!

She must remember to thank Lt Aranda and Lt M'Ressa for their time. They should meet up again, who knew that an Orion, a Caitian and a Human could make such an interesting trio. M'Ressa, the things she could do with her tail made Gaila shudder. As for Aranda or Randy as most folks called him he had an appendage that he should thank his Aboriginal Australian ancestors for.

The video comm chimed as her boss Admiral Pike reminded her to check with catering for the late lunch for his meeting with the Vulcans and the architects from London. Gail was more than willing. Boss man was looking a lot more relaxed these days.

A few months ago she started to worry about him. His pheromones smelt off, he was not getting enough sexual rest. If it was not for human taboos and Starfleet regulations she would offer to see to his needs in the office every day if he wanted. Even if it was just for oral stimulation. Thankfully he resolved the situation, now his pheromones smelt much better. Delightfully refreshing, someone was giving him the rest he needed. She wondered who it was?

Oh well, it was none of her business, as Nyota kept telling her every time she brought up the subject when they had their subspace monthly chats. She never understood Nyota's prudishness about sex. It was not as if Spock was not giving her plenty of sexual rest. When they were based on Earth their pheromones were off the charts!

Out of all the beings that were Gaila's partners she never met a Vulcan who could find a logical reason to share sexual intercourse with her. However these days she might have a better chance, did she not read that there was a significant female to male imbalance on their new homeworld or something? Maybe she should take her next vacation there or go to Nisus, a Vulcan planet where the heat was less stifling, it had a more tropical climate. Did they have a female to male imbalance as well? She must find out.

Admiral Pike checked the comm, 13.50hrs. Based on his experience he knew his guests were going to arrive exactly 14.00hrs. Maybe he could sneak a cup of coffee before they arrived. He had arranged for Vulcan tea to be served, it tasted alright but he needed some caffeine to keep him awake. He had spent most of the night and part of the morning getting his itch scratched with Admiral Jameela Patel. She was an old friend where they had an arrangement. If neither was dating anyone and they needed 'physical servicing' they called each other. Friends with significant benefits he believed it was called in the old days. And the past two weeks ,since he returned from London, he felt a lot better enjoying those benefits significantly.

"Minister Selek, Commander Stolek and Ms' Maxwell and Lewis to see you Admiral" chimed Gaila over the comm.

"Thanks, show them to the Tucker meeting room, Lieutenant" returned the Admiral.

Pike arose and headed for the meeting, he hoped this time when he met Ms Seria Maxwell Kril'es chan, (there ,he said her name correctly) his body would not act like a horny teenager.

Seria looked up from her seat as a tall Orion officer headed their way and escorted them to the meeting room. She hoped this meeting with the Admiral left in her a cordial manner. She was in a good mood, getting to know Tayver these last two weeks was an interesting experience.

After talking over the comm they arranged to meet. Their first event was in London. His job at the consulate entitled him to significant transporter credits so it was a lot quicker than taking the Eurotrain or an aeroshuttle. She was able to use her own transporter credits as well; having a brother in Starfleet had its perks.

Her brother Sam was one of the healers on the USS Enterprise. He was entitled to share his transporter account with family members, either spouse, registered partner, children, parents or siblings. Since he had neither spouse, partner or children, Seria and her mother made the most of them. Although her mother Rachel hated transporters, she deemed them unnatural. Her sa'mekh deemed her mother's attitude illogical but he still ended up kissing her after his pronouncements. People who believed Vulcans had no sex drive or low sex drives had no idea how wrong they were….

So things were going well with Tayver, so what it had only been two weeks. One thing with Vulcans they did not waste time with long courtships since courtships were not part of their cultural experience. The whole culture was playing by ear with this since 2258. It was rumoured that the Vulcan council obtained advice on how to proceed with so many unbonded males looking for females with no familial support behind them, since they had all been killed. Some funny soul had written a blog on the galactic nets, 'The Dummies guide for dating – Vulcan version'. It had millions of hits..

The caterers arrived at the meeting room with lunch. It was decided to eat first and then commence with the agenda. Pike and Shayla being used to Vulcan culture ate silently with the rest. The caterers had done a good job. Vegetarian lasagne, salad, iced Vulcan tea with mint, plommeek flavoured ice cream ('fascinating' thought Commander Stolek).

Afterwards things got down to business. Shayla made the presentation showing them their draft schematics on the holocomputer. It took around 8 minutes for her to talk in detail of the plans.

"Any questions"?asked Shayla at the end.

There were a few questions that were answered to the Vulcans and even Pike's satisfaction. However there was one that Pike wanted to know.

"Which builders are you planning to use"? asked Pike.

Seria replied. "For our Earth projects there are builders that we tend to use, we try as possible to always use local builders. Most of our projects are based in England but over the years we have had some global projects as well. I recommend that we liaise with Vulcan builders on the planet or a firm from one of the colonies."

The Vulcans nodded their heads in agreement; Pike was impressed with the whole thing. He had no logical objections to using this firm apart from working closely with the delicious looking young lady in front of him. He almost slapped himself in the head what was his problem? He was not feeling horny, had gotten laid aplenty last night but he had to admit he was very strongly attracted to Seria Maxwell. Well that was not her problem, that was his. He was a professional Starfleet Admiral with thirty years' experience for goodness sakes.

"Thank you both for your time, very impressive". Pike stood, ready to give them both a handshake. "Starfleet looks forward to working with you".

"So you have no objections with this firm, Admiral"? asked Selek trying hard not to smile.

"Not at all, we can go ahead and tell our legal departments to get things started"

"Agreed" confirmed Commander Stolek. He too was impressed with the presentation. The Vulcan lady seemed a touch emotional when they first met, but he put that down to her mixed heritage. It would be illogical for her to not exhibit her human traits. He had to admit, if he was not bonded and contentedly so, he would have expressed an interest in getting to know her. He damped down his slight curiosity in case his bondmate T'Cara misconstrued. The sooner he got back to her the better.

Shayla and Seria almost jumped for joy, they did it, they got the contract! Lewis Maxwell and associates were going galactic!

It was afterwards they realised this meant one of them had to move to Vulcan to set up a new office. And they both knew there was only one logical solution.

"Well Seria, looks like you are going to move to the Fatherland, after all". Shayla and Seria had returned to their hotel room. They had decided to spend a few days in San Francisco rather than beam back to London.

"Sa'mekh will be pleased, mother not so much. She already has one son off planet, but to have both children off planet"?

"Perhaps we could open the office and hire someone to manage it?" asked Shayla. As soon as she said it she knew it was not the best idea.

"No, a project this big requires one of us to be there from start to finish. According to the minister they want things to start in five months. That gives us time to set things up and gives Starfleet time to find a replacement for the Admiral".

"How do you feel about working with Admiral Sexypants." joked Shayla. Being only quarter Betazoid her empathic abilities were on the low end of the spectrum. However she could still pick up Seria found him attractive but annoying, but the Admiral, she sensed in different circumstances he would give Seria the time of day.

Admiral 'Sexypants' had returned to his office, relieved that things went better than expected and glad that he did not end up disappointing the new firm . He liked to give people chances. Especially when they deserved it.

Unknown to him his aide Gaila ,picked up on something else when he came back from the meeting. Her boss was not only exuding 'sexually rested' pheromones but his erotic 'I want' pheromones clicked in. Gaila wondered which of the people in the Tucker room the Admiral's body was craving.

**AN:According to canon Orion women pheromones can turn men on. So I figured they can also sense different pheromones in other humanoids as well**

**Reviews are always welcomed**


	8. Chapter 8

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**AN: I know some readers are not fans of too many OCs, but I love em! All Vulcans words taken from VLD ( /vld/)**

**Earth Time, Monday 21 May 2263 – USS Enterprise, ship's night, somewhere in the Alpha quadrant, not far from the Sol system**

Lieutenant Samuel Robert Antonio Banderas Maxwell Kril'es chan stretched out his six foot plus body on the bed he shared with lover Lt Cmdr Erin Latara Psh. They had been together five months which for him was a record. Sam as he was affectionately known, was not a ladies man but he had not been looking for anything permanent either**. **When he chose to be with a woman she had his undivided attention, even if their liaison only lasted a few weeks. But this 'thing' he had with Erin Latara, what started as a no strings attached sex only affair (and the sex was amazing!) was turning into something a lot deeper and probably a lot longer lasting.

He turned to look at his lover. They were not only beautiful inside but outside. Yep,'they' was the word. Who knew he could be in love with two women at the same time? Love did he really think that? He must be in deeper than he realised.

Erin Latara was a TokRanite, an interesting race of joined beings of a mini dragon looking symbiote and a humanoid. The Tokranites joined the Federation 73 years ago; they warmly embraced its principles and successfully integrated their military with Starfleet. Apart from the intricate markings on their foreheads and that most of them shared their body with another sentient species. Physically inside and outside they were almost similar to humans.

Erin was the humanoid; she had cinnamon coloured skin, beautiful grey eyes, curly afro brown hair, and a five foot 7 inch body that made his mouth water every time he saw it. She was senior to him in rank, luckily she worked in the computer science department under Commander Spock so their relationship was totally legit. Even if it wasn't, Sam confessed he doubted he could give her up. She was 65 years old, the equivalent of a 30 year old human since Tokranites aged slower and lived a lot longer than humans.

Latara was the symbiote. They could live for a thousand years and have numerous hosts. However Latara was a junior symbiote, Erin was her first host but you knew she was in charge when her eyes glowed, irises changed colour to violet (all Tokranite symbiotes had violet eyes) and that resonating voice started to speak. She worked in the botany department. Latara tended to be outspoken, passionate and humorous. Erin was the complete opposite, quiet, serious and doing her best to stop Latara putting their foot in their mouth.

Host and symbiote loved each dearly and were fiercely protective of each other. They were very careful when choosing their lovers, you either accepted both females or none at all. Rarely did they not like the same man at the same time, and being with Sam for them was a godsend, he wanted them both and they wanted him.

The objects of his affections snored gently in their sleep. Actually Latara was the snorer! He had worn them out. Sam felt good, since of the three he was the physically weaker one. As joined beings they were stronger than he and probably could carry him like a baby. Most nights one or the other was awake, but last night after an energetic session of lovemaking (when did it become lovemaking and not just sexual release?) Erin Latara slept through the night.

Sam decided since he wasn't sleeping, he would make a call to his sister Seria. See how things were going with her love life. He understood her decision to look for a Vulcan mate and do her bit but hoped she did not sacrifice duty for love. Even their father admitted in his roundabout Vulcan way that he married their mother Rachel for love or as he put it.

"My katra wanted her and what the katra requires, the katra recieves". It was probably the most emotional statement sa'mekh had uttered to his children.

Most folks were surprised that human Sam had a Vulcan father. The truth was Salas was his uncle in law and Rachel was his aunt, his father's sister. His biological parents, Robert Maxwell and Juanita Banderas having perished on the USS Kelvin. Three year old Sam was then staying with this aunt and uncle as usual when his parents were on assignment but this time mama and papa did not return. Despite the tragic circumstances Sam could not ask for better adopted parents and loved his older sister Seria.

He headed to the living area to place a call to London however it chimed before he could speak.

"_Subspace call from ko-kai S'y'ree'ah."_ The videocomm was Vuhlkansu audio only, Sam didn't want his ability to speak the language to get rusty.

"_Call accepted, include video"_

Seria came onscreen, it was daytime in London, and she was sitting in her office looking all smart and professional as usual.

"_Greetings Hassu S'Muel" _smiled Seria. It was a running joke between them that sometimes she called him Doctor Samuel from the day he announced to the family when six years old, he wanted to be a healer like his sa'mekh.

"_Greetings ko-kai, hope your day is logical and problem free"_

"_This is Earth sa-kai, very little is logical and problem free". _Seria responded with a laugh.

His sister had a lovely laugh, that she only saved for close family and friends which consisted of him, their parents, their cousins T'Shea, T'Ynise and Shayla her best friend and business partner_._ She said people still seem to find it confusing to see a Vulcan expressing emotion even if that Vulcan was part Human and born and bred on Earth. So she kept public laughing to a minimum.

"_Well your timing is good I was just about to comm you, needed to how how your search for Mr Vulcan is going". _

"_It goes well, actually I have met someone, his name is Tayver"_

Seria then proceeded to tell Sam how they met and that their dates were quite enjoyable. Tayver seemed to be quite liberal for a Vulcan, even one from Nisus. He was 50 years old and had spent 25 years working on Earth so maybe some Terran ways were rubbing off on him.

"So how comes he is still single?" asked Sam resorting to English

"He comes from a clan that does not practise child bondings"

"So how does he 'manage?' Sam being the son of a Vulcan knew all about the Vulcan males' dilemma.

"Fortunately for him the male members of his clan tend to need 'company' only after the age of 58. He believes he has 98% probability that he can concentrate on his career and find a bonding based on 'contentment' as well as logic.

"Does that mean he hasn't had?….."

Seria interrupted her brother quickly. "He is no virgin."

Sam laughed, trust Seria to get that information out of a guy, but it was important. The younger generation of Vulcans were not prepared to just 'do the do' every 7 years. Sam suspected based on his parents relationship and other Vulcan/Other pairings that he knew, that 'only every 7 years' was a myth that Vulcans did not discourage but was as far from the truth as most Orions being chaste virgins at the age of 18.

"So apart from checking on your baby brother, and the wonderful Mr Tayver what else is new in your life?"

This was the real reason for Seria's call, to tell her brother about the firm's latest project. Building a starbase on New Vulcan. Sam was very impressed especially when she told him the project involved working closely with Admiral Pike. The Admiral was very popular in the fleet, most on the Enterprise knew how he went out to bat for Captain Kirk. His loyalty for those serving under him made them just as loyal to him.

However there was one thing that Seria worried about.

"You're worried about breaking the news to _ko'mekh_ aren't you?"asked Sam.

He could see the look on his sister's face. They both knew Salas would find the news 'very agreeable', his version of jumping of joy and shouting 'congratulations'. But Rachel, it took a lot of convincing from sa'mekh and Seria to accept his choice to resign his post at the prestigious Princess Diana hospital and join Starfleet at 28 years old, as a fast track cadet in 2258. It brought back memories of what happened to her brother all over again.

He did his best to keep in touch and through the famalial bond Salas was able to keep her mind at ease about his safety.

"Look" responded Sam."I'm due some vacation time, let me know when you are going to the Caribbean. I er might be bringing some friends with me".

By the look on Sam's face these 'friends' did not seem like his normal Starfleet buddies. She questioned him until she probed out of him his relationship with Erin Latara. She found it quite amusing that Sam was in love with a Tokranite. He seemed to hardly have time for one female, much more less two. She could not wait to tell Shayla. Sam used to have a crush on her when they were children, but now considered her like another big sister. Shayla predicted that when Sam fell he would fall hard, turns out she was right.

**AN: I don't know how the stardate system works so I'm ignoring it. Also being a scifi fan of other tv shows I've decided to borrow one of my favourite aliens from Stargate. I love the Tok'Ra but hate how the writers treated them in the end. So this is my little tribute to them. Don't worry the rest of Stargateism does not exist in this AU. E.g. there are no Go'auld, it's not a crossover.**

**Reviews are always welcomed, feel free to leave as many as you can!**


	9. Chapter 9

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**September 2263 – The 'Archer' club, Mill Valley, San Francisco**

The 602 club, famous haunt of Starfleet officers since the 2140's had not changed much over the years. Apart from the technological advances, even old Admiral Archer would be able to recognise the place.

Sadly the admiral died back in May, he received the highest Federation state funeral that anyone could receive. Accolades came from especially Andoria, Vulcan and Tellar and all over the Federation. Every school child knew his name and the name of all the first NX01 class bridge crew of Enterprise.

Very few of the bridge crew were still alive to attend the funeral. Admiral Hoshi Sato was there, looking serene and beautiful with her 134 years. Captain Travis Mayweather with his cane and snowy white hair at 137 years, the famous Doctor Phlox, one of the few Denobulans who bothered to travel offworld. The species went into hiding since the Romulan war. Captain Charles 'Trip' Tucker at 142, getting weaker with age, all those years working in the engine room eventually caught up with him. But nothing could stop him from making the trip from the Vulcan colony Vulcanis Lunar with his spouse Admiral T'Pol, the first Vulcan to join Starfleet.

Theirs was a story that most Vulcanophiles found romantic; the first (known) Vulcan/Human couple who had the first Vulcan/Human child, the now famous Doctor Elizabeth T'Les Tucker who did so much work at the Phlox Medical Institute to pave the way for other successful hybrids to be born.

The Admiral was laid to rest in style, his body cremated and as per his wishes, ashes divided and scatted in upstate New York, Tellar, Andoria and New Vulcan.

The owners of The 602 club decided to create their own tribute to Archer by renaming the venue The Archer 602 club.

Admiral Pike's staff thought the club would be a fitting place for his going away and promotion party. Lt Gaila, Lt Kyle Campbell and other staff arranged a surprise party knowing that if things were left to him he would have some small gathering, a few drinks, a few sandwiches and then disappear.

Gaila et al went all out for not only was the Admiral moving to New Vulcan but so was she. The move came with a challenge for Gaila (who to have sexual rest with) and her own promotion to full Lieutenant as Deputy Chief of Operations for the new starbase. Despite wishing the move was to Risa instead she jumped at the chance and accepted.

So now after the usual round of speeches from the brass, the music played, the food spread was good and the drinks flowed. There was just one more surprise present to give to the Admiral.

"Just one more gift Admiral, you'll really like this one", announced Lt Campbell.

Pike sighed, and crossed his fingers that Gaila did not decide to do the traditional Orion farewell dance which was closer to a strip tease performance. He knew because he experienced it many times with another Orion female as a young Lieutenant… privately.

"Bring it on" shouted someone from the back.

The sound of a transporter beam, surprised the guests. As Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, Lt Uhura, Lt Cmdr McCoy and other crew from the USS Enterprise was revealed.

"Surprise!" they all shouted, well all except Spock, who stepped in front of the crew and handed Pike a present.

"What you all doing here?" he asked, this was a great surprise.

The flagship was not expected back to Earth for a short refit for another three weeks. By then he would be on New Vulcan. The last time he spoke to Kirk he expressed his disappointment that he would miss his farewell party. But Scotty pulled another rabbit out of his hat and got them back quicker than expected. Plus someone high up in the Admiralty conspired with Kirk (he suspected his boss Admiral Nogura) to keep it a secret that they were returning sooner rather than later.

"Wouldn't miss this for the world", beamed Kirk. He was looking good. Being out there was maturing him as Pike always hoped it would. Plus he suspected Dr Marcus had a hand in it as well. Nothing like a good solid relationship to keep you on your toes.

Don't go there Pike. His mind wondered as he conversed with the crew, back slapping, doing the rounds, tolerating the jokes that were being told at his expense. He decided to be positive about his sporadic love life. It might be difficult finding company on New Vulcan but you never know, some open minded Vulcan lady might find him worth considering or with the amount offworlders working on the planet he might even bump into some other female from another species if not his own.

**AN: Hold on Pike, love is coming to you sooner than you think, be patient!**

**I seek them here, I seek them there, I seek reviews from anywhere.**


	10. Chapter 10

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**October 2263 –Surak Tgai spaceport, T'Khasi Uzhar**

Grell breathed a sigh of relief as he descended the shuttle in the hanging bay of Surak Tgai spaceport. He was not a frequent galactic flyer, as his Tellarite family often complained, they did not see enough of him. If he could beam to Tellar to appease his father's family, he would. He liked the idea of beaming directly from one point to another. If it was possible to beam from Earth to New Vulcan he would be one happy Homo Tellar.

Instead here he was after he offered to assist boss lady Seria find herself a new Vulcan Executive Assistant for the Vulcan branch of Lewis Maxwell & assoc. Him and his big mouth! He supposed he could tolerate the heat and dryness for his three months stay. Seria did arrange for a crate of 'Mississippi Mud Slide', which sweetened the deal so his skin would not end up looking like dry leaves. The pay rise and promotion to Senior Executive Assistant wasn't too bad either.

After he cleared customs and immigration and collected his luggage, there stood Seria waiting with an air taxi. Looks like boss lady still did not have her air car licence.

"Welcome to _T'Khasi Uzhar_ Grell" spoke Seria

"Teecazee Oozar, is hot" moaned Grell

"Well get in the taxi, the air conditioning is on", responded Seria

Grell entered the vehicle and almost burst out laughing. It seemed even here at the New Vulcan colony most taxi drivers were never 'native' to the place. There sat a human male speaking to Seria in what sounded like broken Vulcan with a French accent.

Why does he not switch on the translator? Turns out the driver wanted to practise his Vulcan and seeing that Seria looked 'indigneous' chose her as his target. Seria never bothered to correct his assumption.

Looking around the city in the air taxi Grell noticed how far the Vulcan people had set up their infrastructure. They had done well in four years. Roads, highways, government buildings, schools, hospitals, transport, residential homes and other important structure taking place. Of course building work was still going on; there were cranes, robotic construction machines plus builders everywhere. The Federation had gone all out to set things up on the colony. It helped also that the Vulcan government had invested a lot on Earth since the 21st century. Those financial investments now came in handy to finance a lot of the work that needed to be done. The outpouring of support from Federation members and the Vulcan Diaspora with goods, services and credits showed that all beings recognised that a strong Vulcan homeworld was needed as soon as possible for the mental health of the Federation.

The trip to the hotel took only 25 minutes. Grell was impressed, Starfleet or whoever was paying had put them up in the Shannai'Kahr hotel,it was at five star standards. Grell and Seria entered the lobby and were escorted to their individual rooms. Seria had arrived the week before, most of her time was taken with meetings, meetings and more meetings. Thankfully Grell was here to reduce her load. She needed him to not only help her with choosing staff but help her find somewhere to live. The Defence department and Starfleet left the place to her choosing and between them would be paying her rent during her stay.

This was not a permanent move for Seria but a long term assignment. She hoped at the end of the two year contract that she would be able to hand over the reins to a local. It was the two year thing that sold the deal to her mother Rachel. Not that she would've turned it down even if she objected.

Seria remembered her going away party fondly. Her cousin T'Shea closed down her nightclub '_Katur'_ and held a fantastic party in her honour. Her parents, brother, other family members, all her employees and even Tayver was there to give her a good send off.

Tayver had been very patient with her. He suggested they bond before she left but she asked him for more time. They decided the best way to help their relationship was to arrange to see each other at least every five weeks. As for testing their sexual compatibility, Tayver was all for it but for some strange reason Seria was holding back. However they had made it to third base and he found 'oral stimulation extremely satisfying' which for a Vulcan male meant 'Woman you blew my mind, can we do it again'?

Oh well time to plan for her meeting tomorrow with Admiral Sexypants..shit she meant Pike. Why Shayla's silly nickname for the Admiral stuck in her subconscious she had no idea.

**AN. In this AU transwarp beaming is under wraps and held in a vault with Starfleet Intelligence. As John Harrison/fake Khan proved that technology is dangerous. Imagine beaming whole armies into I enemy territory without their knowledge…. Scary!**

**Next chapter – Pike v Seria….**

**I seek them here, I seek them there, I seek reviews from anywhere.**


	11. Chapter 11

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**October 2263 – The Federation compound, Shi'kahr Uzhar**

As Vice Admiral Pike dressed, listened to the comm network and prepared for work he thanked the Vulcan-Andorian joint venture team of ages past for the invention of air-conditioned underwear. It enabled races like the Andorians, born and bred in arctic weather to travel to hotter climes. And gave relief to races like Humans who relocated to New Vulcan.

The average temperature in Shi'kahr Uzhar (New Shi'kahr) today was forecast to be 92F/33C and this was just the autumn. Thankfully being a Mojave native he was used to 92F but he dreaded what the heat would be when summer arrived on the planet. He was glad the Starfleet offices were just ten miles away from the Federation compound where he resided.

The compound was the place built for all offworlders with working visas to aid the Vulcan people. It was like a mini town, home to 147,200 beings, although a few chose to reside with the locals. Pike wondered how they were faring living among a people devoted to logic.

Well part of his mission, since he chose to accept it, was to win the majority of the hearts and minds of the Vulcan people for the Starfleet base. He knew the Vulcan government accepted it as a necessary evil until their defenses got back on their feet. But Starfleet's long term aim was to stay there for as long as the planet existed.

Once Vulcan was restored to full planethood, (which the government projected would take the population five generations to reach 500 million for the required status, assuming every family had the average minimum of four children) he knew Starfleet would do its best to stay, even if the Vulcan had independent means to defend herself. This was a political coup; they had no intention of giving it up in the future.

Pike reasoned such dreams would not be his problem since he won't be around to deal with it. However he did listen to the debates on the colony net each morning. Vulcan did not comm 'talk shows' and argue like everyone else, they 'debated'.

The biggest topic these days was on the talk show no..communication schedule 'Speak to Walten of the clan Kar-Trite'. Walten was the only homeworld journalist to escape from Vulcan on the day of the _Va'Pak. _He was a respected reporter whose holovision documentary 'After the _Va'Pak_' won top Federation media awards. So he was the logical choice to set up the new Vulcan Broadcasting Corporation as well as having his own 'communication schedule'.

Pike entered his air car but decided not to fly; he enjoyed the desert view as he drove to work. He decided to listen to what was becoming one of his favourite local programmes. It gave him an insight on public opinion as well as a chance to practise his Vulkhansu

"_Live long and prosper, we have Janeth of the Loklal region on the comm._" Walten's voice toned over the commnet.

"_Live long and proper Walten and to all who choose to listen to this programme. I am displeased with the plans for a Starfleet base on this planet. We have no need of them. They can defend the colony in space_."

"_That is so Janeth of the Loklal region; however they will also need facilities for replenishment._"

"_Then they should ensure an optimal stock replenishment system and have adequate resources on their vessels. There are already too many offworlders on the colony. Their visa should be limited to 5 years and not 10 years. They are a danger to the Vulcan way. Also it is said the Commander of this base will not even be a Vulcan_".

"_Your time to share your reasoning is over. We now have comm space for T'Ynise of the Rok'kahr region. Peace and long life to you Janeth._"

"_Live long and prosper Walten and to everyone listening. I am healer T'Ynise and I support the Starfleet base. If was not for them this colony would still be a barren desert planet or just another small Vulcan research station. Starfleet saved our culture and our Head Elders whether we like it or not. We owe them, so the least we can do is put aside our prejudices and embrace IDIC. As for the offworld workers who are committed to spending ten years to aide us, feeling threatened by people who are 0.946% of the population is not logical._"

Pike enjoyed the debate as others commed. He was not surprised at the prejudiced views some callers expressed. His protégé Spock taught him long ago that Vulcan logic and Vulcan morality did not always go hand in hand. So far in his estimation it was 48% against, 37% for and 15% undecided until they had all the evidence. Only the Vulcan people could make a talk show sound so civilised.

He arrived at his temporary offices at the Federation embassy. His schedule for the day included meetings with Commander Stolek to invite him formally to be his Executive Officer as well as a meeting with _her. _

Her being Seria Maxwell, he hoped a change of location would lead to a change in her attitude towards him. He suspected she found his initial criticisms annoying and illogical.

"Good day to you Admiral, _Deef-tar-hay-some-us-ma_," Gaila greeted him with her terrible Vulcan accent and terrible pronunciation but at least she got the hand gesture right.

"_Dif-tor heh smusma_, Lt Gaila", replied Pike

"Oh, did I say something different, I've been practising all weekend." frowned Gaila. "I don't want to rely on the translator."

"No one expects you to speak perfect Vulcan, Lieutenant".

"I know Admiral, but since most of your staff will be Vulcans. It would be good for me to improve my conversational Vulcan at least. Especially if they want to say something about me behind my back, or if they choose to socialise with me after work". Gaila shrugged.

"If they choose to be negative, I'm sure you have the skills to deal with their lack of vision". Pike responded with a smile on his face.

He knew coming here would be difficult for a social being like Gaila. Orions cultural default was not to spend the evening sitting alone in their apartments. Though he guessed Gaila was already familiar with all the bars and clubs in the Federation compound.

"You bet.. er I mean yes sir. By the way Admiral, there is a last minute change to your schedule. Commander Stolek's bondmate T'Cara commed and said he will be indisposed for a few days. I've rescheduled the meeting for next week Wednesday. So Ms Maxwell has agreed to meet you this morning and Minister Selek has confirmed lunch at 13.30 hours."

"Thank you Lieutenant. And thanks for doing your old job until you start your new post. I'll need to start interviews for an aide as soon as possible. "

Pike rubbed his chin; part of the agreement with the Vulcan government was that 80% of the positions at the base must eventually be given to local people. Due to _Va'Pak_ there were not many Vulcans with experience in the military. He did not want to deprive the other colonies of their own small military defense staff that were already using former Starfleet personnel. He was planning to start the selection process with Commander Stolek. He hoped he was not too sick but what else could 'indisposed' mean?

He sat at his desk in his temporary offices, at least they had not given him a cupboard to work in, it was pretty impressive. Minister Selek was making sure the government was pulling out all the stops to be helpful. He looked forward to their lunch appointment; he needed to expand his social circle. He could not hang out with his staff and had no other Starfleet officers to fall back on. There was no 'Archer 602 club here'. Maybe he should join one of the Federation sporting clubs on the compound or immerse himself with whatever passed for social life on Vulcan.

"Ms Maxwell is here." Gaila chimed over the comm.

The door opened and the vision of Vulcan loveliness that squatted in his dreams when he was feeling frisky entered his office.

Pike stood, pulled down his uniform jacket, and stretched out his hand.

"Good morning Ms Maxwell, welcome to Starbase T'Khasi Uzhar."

He hoped that sharing a little joke, would give them a good start.

His 'vision of Vulcan loveliness', looked at his outstretched hand, ignored it and gave him the traditional Vulcan greeting.

"Dif-tor heh smusma_, _Admiral". Her face looking a lot more serious than he expected. Looks like his chocolate beauty was in full Vulcan mode. Being among her own people pulled out the Vulcan in her.

Pike sighed returned the greeting and asked her to sit. Well if she wanted to play things that way, he could be as logical as the next Vulcan.

Unknown to him Seria, did not trust herself to shake his hand. Vulcan women menstrual cycle came every 100 days and like human women just before it appeared, could be quite frisky. A bonded woman had a mate to deal with any 'physical needs' or increased their time in meditation. It was not a female version of Ponn Farr but Seria had the disadvantage of Vulcan emotions with human control.

If she was on Earth, before knowing Tayver, she would meditate and increase her evenings sparring at Vulcan martial art classes. Having Tayver around made things a lot easier and a lot more pleasant than meditating but he would not be here for another two weeks. She feared due to her admitted attraction to the Admiral if she touched him she would grab him by the neck and stick her tongue down his throat and more.

Unknown to Seria, Gaila smelt her pheromones when she entered the office. She worked out that the Vulcan female was in some sort of heat. Funny she never detected Vulcan mating pheromones before; she wondered if it was because she was half human? Very interesting, as she noted the pheromones rose just as she entered Pike's office.

**AN:. In this AU New Vulcan has the same climate as Death Valley. So it must be as hot as hell for humans!**

**My theory on Vulcan woman and their menstrual cycle is totally my own. My guess is a species evolved on a desert planet would not be as fertile as Humans due to even more lack of resources if folks had too many children. P.S made a correction the cycle comes every 100 days not lasts for 100 days lol**

**Also I have no idea what the Federation rules are for independent planethood when it comes to population. I guess it must be substantial.**

**Its 84F in London today, the manufacture of air-conditioned underwear would be welcome lol**

**I seek them here, I seek them there, I seek reviews from anywhere. (Thank you Guest for finishing the poem :o) )**


	12. Chapter 12

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date, late November 2263 – L'Langon Ha'shal, (L'Langon apartments), downtown Shi'kahr Uzhar**

Seria checked her comm as she dressed for the Ministry of Defence dinner that evening or as they called it 'social engagement'. She wore a long cream and black gown, backless but with a mandarin collar so at least her cleavage was not on show, it just about past the Vulcan modesty test. The outfit was topped off with long black velvet gloves and what Shayla would call her 'fuck me' shoes or as Seria justified it as logical shoes to give her added height. Her hair was added in the sort of twists and turns that only a Vulcan stylist could do, and he had done a very good job.

She knew most people would probably expect her to wear traditional Vulcan formal wear but she was not a traditional Vulcan. Besides Vulcans knew how to dress up for the appropriate occasion, they just covered up more than most.

The Admiral was due to arrive at 6.45pm, it would only take 15 minutes and 58 seconds to arrive at the Vulcan cultural centre where the 'social engagement' was being held. Why did she agree to be his 'date' for the evening it seemed a good idea at the time but she wondered if she was making a mistake? Seria reflected back on what led her to this moment.

**The Admiral's offices, three weeks earlier**

Pike checked the invite on his comm for the fourth time, looking at it again was not going to change the wording:-

"_The Ministry of Defence requests the presence of Vice Admiral Christoper Bruce Pike to a social engagement t'ved stehkuh (day 7) leh-wun tevan –krus (month 11) at 19.00 hours. _

_Venue – Vulcan cultural centre_

_Mode of dress – Formal wear or Dress uniform_

_Guests – admit two"_

Pike was surprised he was allowed to bring a guest. He knew the second person was not going to be Gaila or Commander Stolek since they had similar invitations both inviting them to also bring a guest. He considered going stag since he could think of no one else he knew that he could invite. It was probably a bit of a stretch to expect one of his lady friends back on Earth to come all that way for a night out in Vulcan, a culture not known for its dinner and dancing under normal circumstances.

'Hold on', he thought, 'How about…nah she never would. Then again maybe she might, you won't know until you ask'.

Pike decided a call to Ms Seria 'Logical' Maxwell was in order even if she seemed indifferent to him. After all he could sell it to her as colleagues networking together at a function.

"Call to architect's office," Pike ordered the comm. The comm was set to vid mode. It went direct to Seria's office and bypassed her Executive assistant.

"_Dif-tor heh smusma Seria Maxwell_"

Seria was surprised at the comm. Grell and the other staff had already left for the day so she was just about to leave and meet her cousin T'Ynise. Her cousin's clan although not related to Seria were the only Vulcan clan members on the planet she had time for.

"_Dif-tor heh smusma Pike shaltra-lan (Vice Admiral)_". replied Seria containing her surprise.

"_I apologise for the interruption to your evening_. _I have an invite to a social engagement. It requires me to bring a guest so I was wondering if you would do me the honour of accompanying me_?"

Pike hoped he did not sound like he was asking her out on a date although he hoped if he did she wouldn't say no.

"Are you asking me on a date"? Seria asked.

If this was the case it was better to speak in English so nothing was lost in translation when she turned him down. After all she was a taken woman, bonded, well almost…. any day now, as soon as she said yes to Tayver.

"Not at all Ms Maxwell. I thought it would be a good chance for us to get to know each other better as colleagues, seeing as we will be working on a major project for the next two years." Pike mused if she falls for that line she is more Vulcan than I thought.

Seria looked at the screen as if she could read Pike's intentions. She wished she was part Betazoid like her friend Shayla and her cousin T'Ynise. Part of her argued it was best to say no, Tayver would not be pleased. But the other half said well he did say it was not a date. And he was right, they had to work together, getting to know each other outside of work might make things less tense at their meetings.

"Where is this social engagement?"

"The Ministry of Defence is holding a…. "

Before Pike could complete his sentence Seria interrupted.

"Oh I have one of those as well. I was going to ask my Senior EA to be my guest. But someone beat me to it. Your former aide Gaila asked him, seems they are quite taken with each other". Seria's mouth curved into an almost smile.

This was news to Pike, but knowing Gaila she would have a new person or persons to be taken with before the end of the month.

"Then we can help each other. I can be your guest and you can be mine," beamed Pike, problem solved for him.

"I was planning to ask my partner to attend." replied Seria thoughtfully. Why was she telling him that, it was none of his concern, Seria pondered to herself.

Was planning? Thought Pike, so that could only mean she has changed her mind? And she has a partner? Male? Female? Business partner or 'partner', partner?

"But you're right; this would be a good opportunity to network. I accept your invitation Admiral".

"That's good, and Admiral is so formal don't you think. Feel free to use my first name." Pike smiled.

"In that case, Christopher, our offices can make the necessary arrangements."

Pike had not been called 'Christopher' since the first grade, but he liked the way his full name sounded coming from her mouth so did not bother to correct her.

"Why don't we just sort something out since we're already here?" Pike did not want her to change her mind due to some scheduling conflict.

Seria agreed, so time and meeting place was worked out. Pike insisted on picking her up from her apartment, something about his mother raised him to be a gentlemen, no matter the species of lady he was accompanying. Seria did not consider him the old fashioned type but she found it amusing and decided to humour him.

**Earth date, late November 2263 – L'Langon Ha'shal, (L'Langon apartments), downtown Shi'kahr Uzhar**

So here she was all dressed up and ready to go. Having no idea what to expect from diplomatic Vulcan dinners never having gone to one. She hoped it was not too boring and full of logical politics or Starfleet talk. Hopefully she met people in the government ready to use her firm to build hospitals, schools or other civilian projects.

"Visitor for apartment 508" chimed the vidcom

Seria arose and did her last checks, makeup looking good, hair in place, clutch bag, shawl wrapped around shoulders. She descended the flight of stairs and met the Admiral in the apartment lobby. Despite giving security his details she knew Vulcan cultural norms did not expect unbonded males to visit the domiciles of unbonded females and since she was living in an all female Vulcan apartment complex she stuck to the rules.

Pike paced nervously in the lobby, he felt like a high school kid about to take the girl of his dreams to the school prom. The Vulcan security guard looked at him as if she was thinking 'illogical komihn' perhaps she was expecting him to do something that would make her want to tackle him to the ground.

He stopped pacing as he spotted Seria coming towards him. He held his breath for a moment. She looked beautiful, he wished he really was going on a date with the girl of his dreams.

He had deliberated on whether to buy her flowers or not but decided that came across as too 'datelike' and deferred that option as a follow up 'thank you' gift instead, if the evening went well.

"Good evening Seria, you look lovely." Pike admired her appearance; he felt he would have the best 'non date' at the event.

"Good evening Christopher and you look most admirable, Admiral." Seria's play on words made Pike grin.

"Normally wearing dress uniform is not my favourite thing, but tonight I don't mind at all." smiled Pike

"Well our chariot awaits". Pike lead her out to the street where he'd hired a chauffeur driven aircar for the evening.

Commander Stolek had a nephew who wanted a part-time job whilst he was studying. He hoped to one day join his _toz'ot _and serve in Starfleet. Pike was only too happy to help the youngster and get him registered as one of his designated drivers. Shylock looked very smart in his chauffeur uniform, the position not only gave him a job it also put him in a place to improve his Standard.

He drove the aircar to the cultural centre. He was surprised to see the Admiral socialising with a Vulcan female, she looked aesthetically pleasing. Considering there were more unbonded males than unbonded females in the colony it was not logical that she choose a human mate. He knew that more Vulcan males were considering offworlders for partners. Shylock had registered on a 'potential bonding site', the humans called dating site for human males interested in nonhuman males as partners. Perhaps the Vulcan female experienced shan'hal'lak with the Admiral hence her seemingly illogical decision to choose him. Shylock hoped that he shared such an experience when he met his future mate.

**Author's Notes: We are having a heatwave in London so cool me down with reviews! :o)**


	13. Chapter 13

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date, late November 2263 – Shi'kahr Uzhar cultural centre**

Gaila fingered the tight collar of her dress uniform. She grumbled to herself that whoever designed the damn thing deserved to be stunned after they were forced to wear it for a year. This was not the ideal clothes for a lady like her to be wearing to a party. Even if the party would have very little partying going on. The Vulcans idea of a good time was nowhere near her definition. Thankfully she had Grell to keep her company, eye candy for the soul and body even if he couldn't avoid complaining about something.

"Let's go outside and get some fresh air." 'eye candy' suggested with a smirk.

"I can't do that now, Starfleet are the guests of honor. Maybe after the food and boring speeches are over, plus I'm waiting on the Admiral to arrive," replied Gaila.

As soon as she spoke Admiral Pike and Seria Maxwell entered the main hall.

"There they are, let's go over and say hello to our bosses." Gail dragged Grell over as he swiped another drink from a passing waiter. Who knew that Vulcan port would give his Human Tellar physique a buzz? She better watch how many of those he picked up.

"Good evening Admiral and Ms Seria," smiled Gaila at the couple, noticing how good they looked together and whew what was that adorable smell?

Mating pheromones almost as strong as the scent Spock and Uhura would exude, especially in the early days of their relationship when they believed their lustlove was a secret. Well it was a secret from everyone except an Orion with a high level pheromone sense like herself or a high level telepath.

So did this mean the Admiral and the Architect were fuc..er mating and in lustlove? If so that was so sweet, but didn't Grell mention to her Seria had a Vulcan mate? Were Vulcans no longer monogamous or was it her human side sharing herself with others? Smart lady, why have one lover to pleasure you when two or more would do. The more lustlove to share with others the better. Perhaps Gaila would find a Vulcan who could see the logic in a triad with her and Grell after all.

"Good evening Gaila", answered Pike

"It's good to see you Lieutenant, you look very smart in your uniform" Seria replied. "I hope you are settling well on the colony".

"So far, so good. Fascinating as the locals say." Gaila responded

"And how are you finding life here Mr Grell?" asked Admiral Pike.

Grell for a part Tellarite was a man of few words in public.

"A bit hot but good booze, nice food, lovely company".

He said the latter as he sipped on his wine and looked longingly at Gaila.

Commander Stolek and his aduna T'Cara joined the group, after the relevant introductions were made the three couples sat together at their assigned table.

Gaila was right the evening was mainly a means to formally introduce Starfleet to the rest of the Vulcan government and other interested parties. Minister Selek did not want them being merely tolerated by Vulcan society but appreciated as well so this was part of the charm offensive. Diplomatic functions were mainly the same no matter the culture, generally decent food, decent wine, a bit of dancing and lots of talking and lobbying. However this being a Vulcan set up Galia was not expecting any dancing. What a pity.

Gaila sat next to Grell eating her food, drinking her wine (not sweet enough for her) and trying hard not to watch the Admiral and his new girlfriend. She could not wait to tell Nyota on their next catch up session. The Admiral was seeing someone and on the strength of his pheromones it was serious, they were mating! Of course Uhura would tell her people mating did not mean love but even amongst Orions there was a difference between plain ole fuc… er casual mating session for sexual rest and sexual mating with a long term partner. They called the latter 'lustlove', humans thought the two differed but for an Orion lustlove was exclusive to just one person or maybe two or three or four ….anyway it was exclusive.

"Wow is that T'Pau?" asked Grell. Gaila quit from her daydreaming and looked up as one of the most famous living people in Vulcan history and politics entered the room accompanied by retired Ambassador Soval. She was impressed, Minister Selek was truly pulling out the big guns. With her presence at the function T'Pau was endorsing the Starfleet team.

Prior to the _Va'Pak_ T'Pau had decided to take a back seat from government and concentrate on teaching at the Vulcan Science Academy. However her experience was needed with so few government leaders and clan elders who survived the xenocide. So she was back in politics but still refusing a Federation council seat, preferring others take her place.

As the evening continued Minister Selek called Admiral Pike and Seria Maxwell to the main staging area. Gaila looked on as T'Pau, Ambassador Soval (still going strong despite being close to 200 years old), Ambassador Sarek (he looks even more sexy in person no wonder Nyota got her panties wet with Spock) approached the podium.

"_We welcome Thee to T'Khasi Uzhar Admiral_" spoke T'Pau in a very authoritative voice despite her small height.

"_We thank Thee for Thy service and that of Thy Starfleet members. We remember with gratitude the honour Admiral Archer performed for us many years ago and we look forward to the same due diligence and allegiance to the V'tosh._"

Pike replied his thanks for the welcome, gave a little speech and silently interpreted the real meaning behind the words. 'Welcome to New Vulcan, Archer treated us with respect, you better do the same buster. Although we are small in number Vulcan can still make life difficult for you if she needs to.'

Seria almost dropped her bag as T'Pau turned to her.

"_Welcome home daughter of Maat Kril'es chan. Your service honours us. We look forward to your father Salas also returning to his people_".

Seria recognised the significance of what T'Pau had just done in front of most of Vulcan high society. With that seemingly simple statement T'Pau rendered Salas Maxwell Kril'es chan _V'tosh katur_ status and any of his children meaningless. T'Pau knew the evening was being reported by not only the Federation News Network (FNN), but also the VBC, word would get around to whoever remained in his clan that he had her support and that alone would force them to reconsider their position.

The Vulcan legal council had decided to review all _V'Tosh katur_ status on application but Salas had not applied since he did not consider the reasons for his estrangement logical in the first place. It did help being away from the clan system; it gave him a freedom to live his life in ways he had not considered prior to his banishment.

As Seria and Pike walked to their table Pike noticed the always cool and collected Seria seemed a bit flustered.

"Are you alright?" he asked

"I just need to go outside for a moment", Seria clung her shawl tightly around her shoulders and headed for the centre's gardens.

Pike offered to go with her, she wanted to object but did not seem to have the energy and really did not want to be alone.

The cultural gardens in a desert climate were tranquil and peaceful. Vulcan had the knowledge to make life bloom in a desert world for millennia. Even here that knowledge had been put to use. Plants indigenous to the planet and even from the former homeworld courtesy of seedlings and transplants from Kew Gardens in London, the Sahara botanical society and the Vulcan Death Valley society and the other few desert worlds of the Federation.

She stood near to a small pond staring at the water creatures as they swam without a care in the world.

"Forgive my intrusion but you seem a bit troubled," Pike decided to break the silence. "Did T'Pau say something offensive, my Vulcan is not that rusty but maybe I missed something."

"Not troubled just taken by surprise," answered Seria, "My father is estranged from his clan, they disapproved of his choice of wife. T'Pau's statement this evening will make the clan reconsider their decision, if any of them are left."

Seria was surprised on how comfortable she felt speaking to Pike about personal matters. The two stood close together as they continued to talk.

"Your father is an amazing man, he saved my life in 59."

"You know my father? Of course you do, it's in my secret Starfleet file."

"Not so secret if you know about it," smiled Pike

"You probably know everything about me," replied Seria

"Not everything. I don't know your favourite foods, your hobbies, whether you ever owned a pet, how many men you have lined up dying to date you." Pike said the latter as a joke but he was really attempting to see how far he could flirt with her before she shut him down.

"Rice and peas, vegetable curry, fried dumplings, macaroni cheese.."

"What?" asked Pike.

"My favourite foods. I'm filling you in on the missing details from my file."

Pike laughed, he was glad their little talk was putting Seria in a better mood.

"So is your next list the one of all your admirers?" asked Pike. He looked at her light brown eyes shining in the Vulcan twin moonlight.

"It's a list of one, and he is not dying to date me. He is dating me."

Seria thought on Tayver, he was due a visit soon. Perhaps this next visit they should set a date for their bonding ceremony. Feeling this comfortable with the Admiral, maybe it was her mind's way of telling her she needed to complete her bond with her chosen mate. Perhaps it was telling her sexual activity on its own was not enough for her.

"Damn.. so no list for me to add my name to," moaned Pike.

"Only if you changed your racial origin to V'tosh," Seria joked back. She collected herself,w hat was she doing flirting with this man? She better get back inside they had been gone long enough.

Seria turned to walk back to the centre and Pike followed. So it's the friend/colleague zone for me, she is not available Pike thought to himself. He recognised due to the ratio of unbonded Vulcan females to males on the colony chances of him 'dating' one were slim to none. If a half Vulcan like Seria was only looking for a Vulcan male then chances are most of them were. If he preferred the male gendar he would have no problem at all.

As they approached the entrance Gaila and Grell were about to exit and enjoy the gardens as well as each other. As they greeted each other in passing Gaila stumbled.

"What's wrong?" asked Grell as he helped her avoid hitting the ground.

"Nothing," Gaila stood as she tugged her jacket down. "Everything" she sniffed the air and recognised something was off and it was not the food.

**AN: Poor Pike one step forward two steps back! **

**Looking for reviews in all the right places…**


	14. Chapter 14

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date, 1****st**** December 2263 – Federation compound, 'Terran' quarter, 'Earth Beta' bar, lounge and restaurant**

T'Ynise entered the restaurant her cousin Seria had chosen for their catch up session. The place was buzzing with a party atmosphere that reminded her of Carnival time in Rio, Brazil. Even here in the 'Earth Beta' venue humans and other beings had decided to celebrate a few days early. December 5th would be two hundred years since humanity had made official First Contact with offworlders or aliens as they were called back then. She knew in the Sol system the whole month would be dedicated to celebrating.

She recalled tales from both sides of her family; her human and Vulcan great grandparents enjoyed telling her what the celebrating was like in 2163, it was just three years after the Romulan war so it seemed humanity partied (like the classic song says) 'like its 1999'. As for the Vulcans well her clan deemed it logical to observe the festivities with even more trade with the Terrans by increasing export sales to Earth in fermented kasa juice and importing even more chocolate.

Anyway everyone knew the K'st kau clan were a little eccentric but harmless. They were not Syrannites and thought Surak should have spent more time in the act of _guv-tvi-rivak_ instead of devoting himself to logic. However being one of the high clans and mainly farmers and food/goods distributors no one messed with the folks responsible for feeding large sections of Vulcan society. Plus they did like thumbing their noses at V'Las High Command by smuggling food to T'Pau and her 'desert crew' as the clan called them before the Syrannites took over Vulcan.

So here they were two centuries later. She reasoned the odds were around 82% that herself and her cousin Seria would not exist if First Contact did not take place. T'Ynise mother was a Vulcan married to a Human Betazoid male, Seria's father was a Vulcan married to a Human female, her father's first cousin. They were a lot closer than most second cousins tend to be due to their shared hybrid heritage. The main difference was the K'st Kau clan welcomed her father with open arms so T'Ynise was closer to her Vulcan heritage than Seria. Plus most of her clan survived the Va'Pak since they were offworld or living on cargo ships as part of the Vulcan Cargo Service.

As T'Ynise reached the bar she noticed Seria was alone, _pekh_ she was hoping to meet her soon to be cousin in law Tayver. Seria had told her all about him and this evening they were hoping to be introduced.

"Greetings Ria," smiled T'Ynise at her cousin.

"Ty, you're here", good to see you", Seria reached out her arms and gave her the familial embrace, clasping her wrists.

"So what you drinking, in this crazy place", asked T'Ynise the place was buzzing but getting loud even for her half Vulcan ears.

"It's a cocktail called 'First Contact', seems to be a combination of vodka and kasa juice," replied Seria.

"First Contact, how original", T'Ynise rolled her eyes.

"I'll have the same please barkeep, but add some chocolate chips on the top," ordered T'Ynise.

More drinks came and the ladies headed over to the lounge section where the volume was more conducive for the ears.

Seria looked at her cousin disapprovingly, "I hope you're not flying back to Rok'khar tonight".

"Of course not, I'm spending the week in the city, staying at a boarding house. I took an airtaxi here".

"So you took leave from the clinic?"

"Yes, I have a few seminars to attend. There are some improved antirejection drugs for interspecies pregnancies, with the expected increase in hybrid births Vulcan society has to be prepared."

T'Ynise worked as an xeno-obstetrician and was one of the first healers to migrate to the colony from Earth. She lived on her family compound in the Rok'khar region. An area dominated by farmers and her clan.

"So where is the logical Mr Tayver, I would like to meet him since he is a fellow healer and all and soon to bond with my"….

Seria interrupted her, "He had to head back to Earth a day early. He wanted to stay for the FC celebrations here but he couldn't get as much leave time as he expected."

"Oh that is a shame, how are things going with you two."

Seria smiled as she replied,

"Things are progressing well, hopefully we will conduct a bonding ceremony early in the new year. We wanted to do it ourselves this month but Komekh insisted on a formal ceremony. Samekh has to keep reminding her that it's not the actual wedding."

T'Ynise could read her amusement at her 'aunt's' antics but there was something missing as Seria continued to speak about her and Tayver's bonding. T'ynise knew Seria was not a 'typical' Vulcan, reserved and stoic when it came to her emotions but she was not as exuberant as T'Ynise tended to be for a Vulcan. However she could read that Seria seemed more vibrant talking about her parents than she did about her bondmate.

"But you don't you have a few more 'meet and greet' things to attend with Starfleet this being FC week? Aren't you breaking ground soon with the builders?"

"Yes but since Tayver won't be able to accompany me I can ask Grell from the office or even the Admiral."

"Admiral Pike? I thought you weren't getting along too well" queried T'Ynise

"Oh things are much better, we even went to a dinner together put on by the Defence ministry a few days ago. He is quite the gentlemen and very charming."

"Charming is he, good, is he seeing anyone?" asked T'Ynise about to test a theory brewing in her mind.

"Why?" asked Seria left eyebrow arched.

"Well you're not the only one who thinks looking for a husband is a good idea, plus _ko'mekh-il_ keeps talking about the house being too big and needing a _kan-bu_ to keep her company. As if running the family farm is not keeping her busy as it is. I keep threatening to buy her a sehlat cub."

"I don't know if he is seeing anyone, besides he is a busy man," retorted Seria.

"Well if he ever seems less busy, let me know" replied T'Ynise

"What about your contribution to our people?" asked Seria

"I doubt our people will be too upset if this Vulcan hybrid chose a non Vulcan mate Seria. Plus if they want me to carry a full Vulcan baby as a surrogate I have no objection."

T'Ynise looked at Seria as she calmly deflected her 'concern'. She lowered her mental shields as she decided to cheat and 'read' her cousin. Yes there it was just as she suspected, simmering below the surface of her emotions, a hint of the green eyed lematya plus a hint of attraction at the mention of Pike.

"Fascinating", thought T'Ynise

**Author's Notes: In canon First contact took place April 5****th**** (my birthday) 2063 (not my birth year lol). I've just noticed that 2263 is 200 years since that historical event in the Star Trek universe. I refuse to believe the event will be ignored on Vulcan. I bet they would definitely celebrate on Earth! Sadly I missed a chance to mention it since its now December in my story. So I am going to change things, in this AU First contact took place December 5****th**** 2063 instead. In April 2063 Zefram Cochrane was too drunk to test his engine lol Oops!**

**First, second, third etc contact reviews are welcomed**


	15. Chapter 15

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date, 5th December 2263 – First Contact Day/Kinuf wu'rak latva Terra (Time of First meeting with Earth), somewhere in the Han-shir Uzhar region**

December 5th First Contact Day, a day that Humans would never forget and would always be grateful. Zefram Cochrane, the eccentric, genius scientist's discovery of warp drive opened humanity up to the galaxy and answered the question, 'Is there anyone out there'? Captain Solkar and his crew of the T'Plana Hath answered with a resounding' Affirmative'.

Human historians had come to begrudgingly admit that the Vulcan policy of holding humanity back in late 21st century was probably the best thing to happen to Earth since not everyone out there had the same good intentions as the excited, new, space faring humans.

Most Vulcans saw First Contact as a good thing for Vulcan. After all it was logical to create an alliance with a planet that had seventy per cent water, lots of natural resources and the ability to create and export to offworlders lots of fascinating edible food.

A minority believed their _sehlats_ more intelligent than what they considered illogical, inferior sentient beings, some even had separatist tendencies when it came to the Federation. Most of those Vulcans had perished in the _Va Pak. _

Another minority found humans so fascinating that they even married them, and with the help of 22nd century medical technology produce offspring. Even the House of S'chn T'gai had succumbed to their charms.

It was the results of one of these many couplings that stood near to Admiral Christopher Pike at the ground breaking ceremony for the Starfleet base. Seria Maxwell did her best to contain her enthusiasm, of all the projects her firm had taken this was definitely in the top five on the most exciting list. History was in the making today of all days.

All the VIPS were there; billioniare Josef Friedmann and his wife Esther, the Earth ambassador to the colony. The family being long-time friends of Vulcan along with their daughter Rachel, her Vulcan aduna Tulim and their twin daughters. Sarek, Minister Selek, retired Ambassador Soval, T'Pau and other representatives of Starfleet, the Vulcan government and the Federation. And last but by no means least her best friend and business partner Shayla.

"It's amazing how things have fared since First Contact," pondered Seria out loud.

"Indeed," responded the Admiral's new Chief of Operations Major T'Zera. An officer of the Vulcan Defence force who came with extensive experience.

"So true," added Shayla, "Vulcans and Humans have created an alliance lasting two hundred years in spite of the many hiccups along the way."

"I'd like to think since 2063 we've bought out the best in each other. What is that Surak saying, 'Infinite diversity in infinite combinations'? " Pike joined in the conversation.

"A most appropriate reminder at this event, Admiral," responded Commander Stolek "And it is agreeable to see this embodied amongst us."

Pike's First officer inclined his head graciously toward Seria and Shayla. They wondered if he not only referred to their heritage but that of his wife T'Cara who was a grand daughter of Admiral T'Pol and Captain Tucker.

The main event had taken place, speeches made and the Terran and Vulcan media addressed. They were now having refreshments under a canopy enjoying a combination of vegetarian Human and Vulcan cuisine. The combined coconut & plomeek flavoured frozen yoghurt held the Vulcans curiosity and fascination.

"Well I must admit I never expected today to be this interesting," Shayla had found the day a lot less boring than expected.

"There's a quite a lot going on in Shi'kahr this week. I can't wait to watch Vulcans and humans playing basketball, cricket, kal-toh and catch the Nisus Orleans Jazz symphony orchestra concert.

"It is agreeable that the Vulcan artistic scene experiences renewal" said Stolek.

"Missing all those concerts were you Commander?" asked Pike cheekily. He knew that Stolek was a frequent visitor to the theatre, art galleries and musical concerts whilst on Earth.

"It is logical to increase knowledge of one's allies, sir," replied Stolek.

"Know thine ally as well as thine enemy," intoned Ensign Thren, Pike's new Andorian aide trying not to melt in the heat and mentally kicking himself for not wearing the right tog arctic thermal under garments.

"What would've happened if Andoria had made First Contact instead?" wondered Seria.

"If my forefather was in charge he would have insisted the embassy be built in Antarctica and not San Francisco," answered Thren.

Everyone, except the full Vulcans laughed but even they quirked an eyebrow at the joke.

"So Admiral are you and your staff looking forward to hobnobbing with more movers and shakers tonight at the Earth consulate?" asked Shayla

"Aren't you going?" replied Pike, he knew Seria had been invited, plus other representatives of Earth companies based on the planet.

"Nope, not me, I've got tickets for the Shi'kahr dance troupe performance tonight. But Seria drew the short straw," laughed Shayla.

"Excuse me Ms Seria, but how does drawing a short straw, give you access to the consulate?" asked Major T'Zera.

"It's an Earth colloquialism", responded Pike and proceeded to explain the history behind the word.

Seria looked on and was impressed to see how the Admiral's staff despite his status seemed very comfortable in his presence. Apart from the young Andorian Ensign who had the least experience so probably found them all intimidating.

The Admiral….no Christopher was good company. He was not only charming, attractive, funny but knew how to put people at ease no matter who they were. No wonder her cousin T'Ynise wanted to meet him. Perhaps she could introduce them to each other or something.

Now why did that idea not seem like a good one?

**Earth consulate, downtown Shi'kahr Uzhar**

Once again Admiral Pike found himself at another formal event but this time at least he was out of that straight jacket of a dress uniform and wearing a dinner suit instead. But he was having a good time. Ambassador Friedmann knew how to put on a party. She was even a pretty nifty dancer as well. Some of the same VIPS that were at the ground breaking were also at the party here plus many others representing Earth and Vulcan.

Pike was hoping to catch some of the events that were on for the week at the colony. 'First Contact day' encouraged tourism from the Sol system. Although sadly he suspected old Vulcan would have held more fascinating attractions with a culture way older than humanity. He wondered how the old Vulcan homeworld would have handled the event or if it would be ignored, considering that Vulcan had made 'First contact' with other races before they met humans, so maybe one hundred years ago this was just another day for them. When he got the chance he would ask Minister Selek how the event was celebrated in his time, if the memories were not too disturbing.

As he continued to enjoy the wine he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder.

"Hello again, Christopher. I almost did not recognise you without your clothes on."

He spun around and there before him was Seria Maxwell, smiling at her own joke and looking as beautiful and as unavailable as ever. She was wearing traditional Vulcan robes and somehow still managed to make them look sexy on her short, curvy frame.

"Well I decided to swap one monkey suit for another," Pike grinned in response.

"Would you like a drink?" He raised his hand to gesture to a server to approach them.

"Thank you, a glass of chocolate wine would be nice."

"It sounds almost blasphemous adding chocolate to wine," joked Pike.

"Well it's the only way my Vulcan physique can get a little buzz."

"Don't Vulcans consider getting drunk illogical?"

"Yes, but it's not getting drunk it's called the 'Zefram Cochrane' greeting," smiled Seria.

Pike laughed, history recorded (and the great man himself admitted) that Zefram Cochrane was almost totally wasted when he made First contact with Captain Solkar two hundred years ago.

"And anyway," continued Seria, one glass of chocolate wine is my limit."

The two continued to converse together and with others who passed their way. Seria spent the evening admiring how Pike looked in his suit. All of their meetings had been business related so she never got a chance to see him in his civvies . They got onto the topic of travelling to other parts of the planet by aircar since the high speed train system was still limited to certain parts of the colony and transporter stations were limited to the major cities.

"So what other regions have you visited?" asked Pike.

"Not many I must confess. I've spent most of the time setting up the office with new staff. I do have a cousin in the Rok'khar region. It's a growing farming community. They make city status in a few years, they are growing extensively".

"An aircar will get you there in no time." replied Pike

"I don't have my aircar licence," answered Seria sheepishly. "I never got round to it living in London. You don't need to drive, the public transport system is excellent and I liked taking the train system."

"Well things are a lot different here Seria. Have you considered taking lessons?"

"Yes but once again it's the time factor. Do you know of any instructors that you can recommend?" asked Seria.

"Sure, how about me?" Pike's answer took Seria by surprise.

She was not sure if taking flying and driving lessons with someone you knew was a good idea or if it was better to use a stranger but then Pike was a friend and they were getting along well so why not? Seria agreed and they decided to use the weekends for her lessons.

Perhaps Pike felt too comfortable in her presence but the next question came out of his mouth before he could sensor himself.

"Care to dance?" he asked as the band which was playing mainly upbeat music for most of the evening, changed to a slow tune.

"Sorry I forgot" spoke Pike,"Vulcan ladies do not. ….."

Seria interrupted him, "Christopher, need I remind you, I am not a traditional Vulcan female. I would be honoured to dance with you."

Pike drew her to him as the band played a very old American song, 'Georgia on my mind.' As he contemplated the lyrics he could not help but think of Seria and wish she was his own sweet 'Georgia'.

**Author's Notes: Thank you to Startrekfanwriter for letting me borrow some of her wonderful characters. **

**Ray Charles 'Georgia on my mind' is one of my favourite old songs. I had to put it in my story.**

**First, second, third etc contact reviews are welcomed**


	16. Chapter 16

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date, Mid January 2264 – en route Rok-kahr shi-masu (Hope Town oasis)**

**Morning**

Winter on New Vulcan was in full swing. That is if you called having average temperatures of 66F 'winter', then it was the kind of cold weather that suited Christopher Pike to a tee. He smiled as he considered the Vulcan natives wrapped in thick coats, gloves, boots and hats whilst he sported a baseball cup, summer clothes and a leather jacket. Even Seria looked cute with her woolly hat and padded jacket, despite being born and raised in England her Vulcan body had a low tolerance for the lower temperature.

They were on their way to Hope Town oasis or _Rok-kahr_ _shi-masu_ as the locals called it. She had family there who lived in the region that held one of the colony's largest farming communities. It had been six weeks since she started her driving and pilot lessons and like a typical Vulcan she was a quick learner. Her test was due in six days so she wanted one more practise session and she felt ready to fly 1,094 miles to another part of the planet.

The trip was almost complete; the journey had been uneventful, light traffic since it was not a working day. Vulcans took six days to work and go to school and spent the first day of the week as a rest day. Not that they admitted to needing rest, it was time for family and other logical pursuits.

"Almost there Christopher," Seria looked over at Pike, he was taking a cat nap. He trusted her to pilot the aircar for the trip without his complete supervision. It only took 2 hours and fifteen minutes from the city apartment to _Rok-kahr ._

"Ok you know the procedure for landing, take it slow and bring her down," Pike awoke alert and in instructor mode.

Seria did the necessary checks and landed the aircar at the _Rok-khar_ landing station on the outskirts of the town. Once they cleared security they drove to the parking area where her cousin T'Ynise stood nearby to greet them. As they exited their transport she approached the duo.

"Welcome to Rok-kahr Admiral," T'Ynise extended her hand and gave Pike a surprising handshake. She turned to her cousin and embraced her Vulcan style.

"About time you visited this part of the world Ria," she wagged her finger at Seria with a mock scold on her face.

Pike was taken aback at how expressive she was. Seria had told him about her cousin's clan and that they were atypical of most Vulcans but to see it in person was quite something. She was a lot less guarded than Seria.

"Better late than never Ty," replied Seria.

"'Never' for you is not an option," responded T'Ynise.

Pike enjoyed the banter between the two cousins as they headed back to the car. T'Ynise took the back seat as she gave them the co-ordinates to guide them to the K'st Kau compound.

Pike found this part of the planet alluring. It was a true oasis, rich, green fertile land on a desert planet. This was definitely due to the nearby sea _Rok-kahr_ _masutra – _Sea of Hope. New Vulcan was the complete opposite of Earth, seventy per cent, mainly desert land, thirty per cent water. So it was logical to create the farming towns near to the large bodies of water dotted around the planet. Even the planet's capital and the future Starfleet base were near to the _Shi-khar_ river.

"So how is the work going on at the base Admiral," asked T'Ynise.

She was impressed with the man she suspected, no knew Seria was strongly attracted to. Perhaps she could use their visit to push her cousin in the right direction.

"Please call me Chris, no formalities needed here," responded Pike.

Seria tried not to roll her eyes as her cousin smiled in response. Was she batting her eyelids, and pulling on her Betazoid charm? Was she flirting with Christopher? The brazen le-matya! She blinked her eyes what was wrong with her, she wanted T'Ynise to meet Pike, and they were both unattached adults. So what if Ty wanted to flirt with him. She decided to concentrate on her driving and less on the conversation between the two.

**Late Afternoon**

Seria was right; her cousin's family were definitely eccentric by Vulcan standards but great company. Pike had not laughed this much since he arrived on the planet four months ago. Not that the K'st Kau clan spent their time laughing but it was something to come across Vulcans who knew how to tell funny, bawdy stories.

They had just finished a hearty but late afternoon meal topped up with the new family brew _Kau_ beer. It was not intoxicating to Vulcans but it would give a human drinker a massive hangover if taken in large quantities. The brew was new and the family were more than happy to use Pike as their first Terran customer since it was for that market they were aiming at. Pike was more than happy to oblige them.

T'Ynise grandmother, T'Anna was also doing her best to introduce him to every single unbonded male and female in the communal dining hall. She considered Seria family and any friend of Seria was a friend of hers. She had even boldly stated if she were one hundred years younger she would go for him herself. Telling anyone who would listen that he was aesthetically pleasing, looked most fertile and would produce beautiful babies. What she actually said in broken English was 'pretty Terran man, most sexually pleasing, lots of pleasant babies you will make.'

T'ynise decided Pike was punished enough and rescued him from her grandmother.

"I apologise if you are offended Chris", she dragged him over to a quieter area of the hall. Seria looked busy talking to one of her brothers who was on leave for a few days from the Vulcan Cargo Service.

"No offence at all, your grandmother is great. To be honest if I were 100 years older I might take her up on her offer," Pike's eyes twinkled as he laughed.

"However I suspect your affections are taken up elsewhere," stated T'Ynise her head pointing to Seria.

"Excuse me?" queried Pike, looking at her as if he did not know what she was referring to. 'Damn I forgot she's part Betazoid, is she reading me'?

"Let me be honest and frank Chris. I want you to know you have my support and to go for it," T'Ynise decided they both needed a push in the right direction.

"She's not available," Pike decided it was no use pretending with a telepath.

"She believes she is not available, but she is… for you. My cousin is a beautiful and brilliant woman but when it comes to romance she can be a bit dense," sighed T'Ynise.

"Go on," encouraged Pike.

"Once she decides to do something and especially if she has the backing of her father, she finds it hard to change her mind, even if it's not the best decision for her,"

"But what about Tay…" Pike tried to interrupt.

"Tayver is not the issue, Seria is. I'm not just a doctor Chris, I'm a Vulcan healer. Healers can be used to help set mating bonds between people. You are familiar with Vulcan bonding rituals right?"

Pike nodded his head, he recalled the bonding ceremony between Spock and Uhura it was short, simple and quite romantic in a Vulcan way.

"Well I haven't conducted a mind meld with Seria but from what I can read and I am a pretty high level telepath and empath so this is no guesswork. Seria is not ready to set a bond with Tayver. I'm sure he is a good man and all but he is not her _Imzadi." _

"Are you saying…"

"Yes there is a very high probability that you are," replied T'Ynise.

Pike looked at her as if he wanted to believe and disbelieve her at the same time. It was too good to be true, he was not an expert on telepaths, empaths or any other paths but he could not dismiss this information could he? T'Ynise was the expert after all. And why would Seria's own cousin be telling him this if it was not true?

"So why don't you talk to her?" Pike asked.

T'Ynise shook her head, "My cousin is not only dense in this area she can be stubborn as well. Just to prove me wrong she'd go ahead with the ceremony or even worse, talk Tayver into a Federation/Terran only wedding and live in 'Vulcan sin' as an unbonded married woman".

"Do your people do that?" asked Pike.

"It's extremely rare but it's not unheard of, not even my clan supports that sort of thing and we are considered far to the left of Syrannite teachings."

"So again what do you expect me to do then?"

"You need to find a logical method to prevent her marrying Tayver and make it stick," replied T'Ynise.

"A logical 'method'?" Pike replied with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, remember Seria is not only part Vulcan she is also part human. I'm sure an experienced attractive man like you can come up with something creative when it comes to a woman," T'Ynise looked at him with a smirk on her face.

Pike still looked like he was wavering.

T'Ynise decided to help him, "Come closer to me, laugh out loud and pretend to be whispering in my ear," spoke T'Ynise

"What?"

"Just do it" T'Ynise insisted.

Pike did what she said, wondering what she was up. From afar it looked like they were flirting and getting to know each other 'very well'. T'Ynise did a mental countdown, five, four, three, two, and one.

Seria walked over to the couple. Pike had to wonder if she flew over.

"Christopher, it is almost time to go," Seria unknowingly looked at T'Ynise as if she wanted to rip her head off.

Even Pike could sense her attitude was chilled towards her cousin and this was not like Seria.

"Yes ready whenever you are Seria,"

"Perhaps now would be a good time, it is 5.30pm"

Seria turned on her heels and went to get her things.

As Pike readied himself to say goodbye and thank the family for an enjoyable day he heard a voice projected in his mind. It was T'Ynise.

"Vulcans are very possessive with their mates. Good luck Admiral."

**Author's Notes: **

**I know nothing about flying hence no technobabble lol**

**I had planned to use Gaila as matchmaker but I believe their rank would get in the way for her to speak to the Admiral this frankly.**

**Thank you to my loyal readers for still hanging in there, the end is almost nigh hopefully only a few more to go. **

**First, second, third etc contact reviews are still welcomed**


	17. Chapter 17

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date, Late January 2264 – en route to Starfleet building site, Han-shir Uzhua region, 100 miles from the capital city**

It had been thirteen days since the trip to _Rok-kahr. _Thirteen days since he was given the go ahead to 'go for it' to pursue Seria. However Pike faced a moral dilemma. He had no problems getting a woman's attention. He suspected if he had tried in the past he would have no problems getting an attached, engaged or married female as a lover. Some had even suggested as much. The combination of charm, the Starfleet uniform and if he said so himself he was pretty good to look at. But he never went down that road, he believed in the old saying 'what goes around comes around'. Why encourage someone to step out on their official partner? If they could do that to them, then what would they do to you?

He even spoke to Selek, to get a Vulcan male's point of view. He was surprised to be told of his experience of bad luck with woman when he was a young man. Selek had a bondmate who found a logical reason to cheat on him with her lover. Selek advised him to think like a Vulcan man, since the lady was with the wrong mate he had a logical reason to make sure she ended up with the right one. (Although Selek conveniently did not mention that in Vulcan culture under certain circumstances it took a fight to the death to get your woman).

Pike sighed. Maybe he was too gentlemanly for his own good, but finding a way to persuade Seria to dump Tayver for him just sounded wrong no matter how you put it. But he realised he better come up with something fast. Just days after passing her aircar driving and flying test, and after sending her an old fashioned but stylish pair of driving gloves as a gift. He received an old style scroll of paper in his office delivered personally by Falaris, Seria's new Vulcan Executive Assistant.

He opened it intrigued by the rare use of such material,

_Salas and Rachel Maxwell Kril'es chan request the pleasure of your company at the bonding ceremony of their daughter_

_S'y'ree'ah T'Shea Maxwell Kril'es chan_

_To_

_Tay'ver Muhl'es Hakau_

_Earth Date 1__st__ March 2264 at 6.30 pm_

_Venue – T'Khasi Uzhar, Shi'kahr Botanical gardens_

_Light refreshment will be followed afterwards_

Oh hell, shit!

**Author's Notes: **

**Sorry for the short chapter. I'm still trying to come up with creative ways for Pike to get his woman. This popped into my head so I decided to post it to help force my hand. **

**I invite you to post your reviews, they are warmly welcome!**


	18. Chapter 18

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date, Late January 2264 – en route to Starfleet building site, Han-shir Uzhua region, 100 miles from the capital city**

**9.00am**

Seria chose to leave home early and enjoy the journey to the building site by driving instead of flying. The route was picturesque, it took her through downtown; past the cultural centre, the up and coming business district and government buildings. Past the botanical gardens where her bonding ceremony was going to be, along the _Shi'Kahr_ river and en route past the Federation compound to pick up the main highway.

She activated her music download and picked some of her parent's favourite. Terran classical soca and some modern Vulcan jazz music from the musician T'Ker who sadly died in the _Va Pak._ So much of Vulcan's cultural scene was lost all those years ago; thankfully the colonies had some good artistes, musicians and sportspeople. There were quite a few from the old homeworld who were offworld at the time, touring with exhibitions, tournaments or performances so they still kept Vulcan culture and sports on the galactic map.

Hearing the music made Seria a little homesick, she could not wait to see _sa',mekh_ and _ko'mekh _next month at her bonding, and she looked forward to her brother and his TokRanite girlfriends being there. No surprise Sam took to polygamy like a duck to water – typical human male she thought. Plus she could not wait to be bonded to Tayver. She wanted a contented, loving relationship just like her parents. Two complete opposites, two different species married for almost forty seven years, ten months and counting, not even some same species couples managed that!

When she asked her mother what was the secret to her long, happy marriage to her father, Rachel's answer was, "When he gets too logical for me I start to stroke his ears." Seria almost choked on her glass of water at the time when she heard that statement.

To be honest her mother was testing the level of her patience with frequent subspace calls about the ceremony, Seria had to keep reminding her it was not the wedding. Her memory replayed their last conversation.

"Tayver's matriarch refuses to stay for the reception. I told them it's part of human custom to have food at similar functions. She insists that since she and her adun are not human their presence is not required. I swear that lady gets on my damn nerves."

"_Ko'mekh_, why don't you ask Aunty T'Anna to talk to her? She is our clan matriarch".

"Oh no, not yet. I can handle her. If things get too bad I'll get Aunty T'Anna, my mother and my grandmother to deal with her drama.

"What does _sa'mekh_ say?"

"Your father always finds a logical reason to leave the house when she calls". Rachel mumbled. "The coward. Next time he wants his ears stroked I'll scrub em with a scouring pad."

And so the conversation went. Thankfully Seria found her own logical reason to end the call. The screen chimed and flashed Admiral Pike's comm number, she bid her mother goodbye. The Admiral was inviting her to check out the progress of the site. He went often since it was part of his duties. As the architect her job was complete, but she did relish the chance to see her designs slowly come to life.

So here she was on her way to Han-shir Uzhua. Thoughts of matching Vulcan robes, menu designs and annoying matriarchs could be laid aside. Maybe she should put the car on autoride for the rest of the journey and enjoy the scenery.

**10.15am**

Admiral Pike stood in the makeshift parking area of the building site as Seria's car drove into view. She had the same idea as him, drive instead of flying. Today being First day/Sunday the site was quiet. He looked around at the silent robotic construction machines which were used to dig the large area for the foundation. Even the trailers that some of the workers chose to live in during the week were empty. The offworlders had returned to the Federation compound for the weekend and the Vulcans had returned to their homes. Most of the construction workers were Vulcans which was good for Starfleet morale. He hoped it made them feel more invested in the project. The latest polls had the support moving in their favour 47% for, 40% against and the rest undecided.

"Morning Christopher," Seria walked over to him, wrapped up against what was for her cold weather.

Chris thought she looked cute, like a little elf but the Vulcans he knew found such a description baffling or insulting, no matter how many times they watched or read 'The Lord of the Rings'.

"Morning Seria, enjoyed the ride over?"

"Yes, thanks and you are right. It's nicer to drive over and enjoy the scenery than take advantage of flying even though it's quicker" Seria responded.

"Ok then let me give you the grand tour," Pike stretched out his hand for her to walk ahead.

Seria laughed there was not much really, apart from the large pentagon shaped hole in the ground and the laying of the nearby highway that led to the base. It had only been seven weeks since construction started. However Pike had a new fancy machine that could project a lifesize holo-image of the base over the hole. It was fascinating to see the building come to life in its habitat. Much more impressive than an image from a small computer.

"That's impressive, where did you get your new toy?" asked Seria.

"This little beauty is courtesy of a joint venture with Friedmann Industries and the Vulcan Ministry of Science and Technology," replied Pike.

"I thought Friedmann Industries was 'The Vulcan Ministry of Science and Technology," joked Seria.

Pike laughed in response. Everyone knew that for almost forty years Josef Friedmann, galactic zillionaire developed most of his technologies with a combination of his business acumen and mainly Vulcan and Terran innovation. It was a good thing that most of the best Vulcan technical experts in all sorts of areas worked for him since they were based either on Earth or other planets when disaster struck Vulcan. The government relied on them after the _Va Pak_ to assist Vulcan back on her feet in the technology department.

They wondered around the holobase, talking and admiring the scene. Pike started to feel a little tired, the temperature was bearable but the humidity was pretty intense. Plus he was tired from doing a lot of travelling and going to meetings offworld on the other Vulcan colonies. He opened his flask of water, took a swig and rubbed and turned his neck from side to side.

"Feeling achy Christopher, maybe you need a spell in a hot mud sauna," spoke Seria, "I go to the one at the Federation compound run by the Tellarites."

"I've heard about them from Lt Gaila, but T'Ynise recommends regular Vulcan neuropressure sessions. She's offered to see me twice a week as a client."

"You're in touch with T'Ynise?" asked Seria trying to sound casual.

"Sure, got her comm details. She offered to give me sessions, believes it will do me the world of good and relieve the stress".

"I bet she did," mumbled Seria.

"What's that?" asked Pike.

"Nothing, it's just that I can give you the sessions", offered Seria haltingly. " You don't need a doctor. Beside T'Ynise tends to be very busy, she might have to cancel on you. Making a two thousand mile round trip twice a week might not always be feasible."

Pike almost smiled to himself, that was too easy. T'Ynise was right, the way to push Seria's buttons was to appeal to her inner possessive Vulcan. He hoped the intimate nature of the sessions led to something else. He still felt guilty but all's fair in love and war right?

**12.30pm**

Pike and Seria decided to head back to town for lunch. Not that she was hungry but she appreciated the social nature of food being raised among human culture. Plus she always liked hanging with Pike but she wondered if offering to be his neuropressure guru was a good idea. It could be an intimate practice but it was not as if they were going to do the full experience and mutually massage each other. She would be the giver not the receiver, she would be in control.

They were getting close to the parking area when they both saw someone in the distance by one of the huge robotic construction cranes. Was it one of the builders come to do some maintenance work on the crane? Pike was not aware of any scheduled maintenance, the building firm was very methodical at keeping him informed on such things, he insisted on it. Hold on, what was he doing near the crane, whoever it was had not seen them. Looked like there were… was that a device he was planting?

Pike went to reach for his phaser, shit, he had left it in the aircar.

"Call the police" he demanded to Seria as he ran towards the saboteur.

Seria reached for her comm, and contacted law enforcement as Pike approached the assailant who recognised that he had been caught.

'Oh _pekh_,' swore Seria, 'a Vulcan'.

As Pike and the man fought, Seria saw the device flashing, she knew nothing about explosives but realised they all had to get their butts out of there as quickly as possible. She ran to help Pike as she believed he would not gain the upper hand. Seria neared the crane just as Pike lifted a piece of metal from the ground and knocked his assailant out cold.

"We've gotta get out of here," Pike shouted and took Seria by the hand.

They both ran as fast as they could, Seria being the stronger of the two dragged them towards the car park.

There was a loud explosion, the device had gone off, but thankfully they were still alive. Pike and Seria looked back at the clouds of smoke. It seemed knocking out the Vulcan prevented him from continuing to do whatever he really wanted to do. The chances of whoever it was being alive were slim to none.

Unknown to them the device did enough damage to nearby machinery. Seria's Vulcan ears heard the noise first, Pike was walking ahead of her as law enforcement and paramedics entered the vicinity. Afterwards as Pike recalled the event, it was as if the whole thing happened in slow motion. He heard a shout, and turned as he saw Seria running towards him. He looked up as the crane seemingly, slowly descended towards him.

Oh fuck, here we go again, thought Pike as the instrument of his impending death approached him.

Suddenly he flew in the air as if someone had picked him up and threw him out of the way. As he got up from the ground, he felt the pain of a dislocated arm, he had landed badly. As the dust from the fallen crane started to settle, he looked around to thank Seria, for it could only be her, for pushing him out of the way. She was one strong lady. But where was she, he looked left, right and behind but he could not see her. A feeling of dread came over him as he looked down. There lay Seria covered in dust crushed by the fallen crane.

**Author's Notes: Evil cliffhanger, please don't hate me….**

**Reviews, reviews, where art thou?**


	19. Chapter 19

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date Late January 2264 – Solkar General Hospital, New Shi'kahr, New Vulcan/T'Khasi Uzhar**

There were five times hard as nails, experienced military man Admiral Christopher Bruce Pike had felt helpless in his almost fifty nine years of life. First – as a young teen when he had to put down his cherished horse Tango, second when he and his ex-wife Lisa experienced the miscarriage of their baby, third when he witnessed Vulcan's destruction by Nero, fourth when Starfleet HQ was attacked by John Harrison/Khan and fifth when he saw his beloved Seria crushed under a construction crane.

For one second he thought she was dead and gave a loud desperate cry as he fell to his knees beside her. Instinctively his decade's long Starfleet training kicked in and he checked for a pulse, it was faint but still there. The paramedics arrived, fixed his dislocated shoulder and had her beamed directly to the hospital. Pike wanted to go with her but knew he had to give the details of what happened to law enforcement. He told them what he knew and reminded them to keep him informed of any developments. Well the attack occurred on Starfleet property so they really had no choice. If it was not for the small size of the department, Starfleet military police would have led the investigation.

So here he was pacing in a waiting room at the hospital. He was in a frustrating position since he was not a relative or on Seria's 'In case of emergency' list there was very little the healers and nurses would tell him, apart from her family had been contacted. His only consolation was that as soon as T'Ynise had commed him to say she was on her way he arranged for a Starfleet shuttle to pick her up and beam her to the hospital.

He turned around as he heard multiple footsteps coming towards him. His team plus others had arrived having been informed by Commander Stolek of the incident. Major T'Zera, Ensign Thren, Lt Gaila, Commander Stolek, Minister Selek plus Grell and Falaris came on the scene. The nonVulcans looked worried, especially Grell he looked as if he was close to tears. The Vulcans had that stoic look on their faces but even in such a short space of time Pike had gotten close to them as a team, he guessed they were doing their best not to blow a gasket at the news one of their kin had tried to kill one of their own colleagues.

"How is she, what is going on?" Grell was the first to ask the question on everyone's mind. "Is she…? He could not bring himself to complete the question.

"She's in theatre right now," replied Pike, "I'll guess we'll hear something as soon as T'Ynise gets here. They refuse to tell me anything." Pike dragged his hands through his hair and let out a frustrated sound.

"Perhaps I can help," Selek stood ready to leave the waiting room and use his government influence on the healers.

"Or even better I can," replied T'Ynise as the door swooshed closed behind her.

Pike hurried over to Seria's cousin and had to refrain from hugging her in relief.

T'Ynise encouraged them all to sit as she filled them in with the details. Seria was in theatre with a crushed pelvis and multiple fractions of both legs. A blood transfusion was required, thankfully most hybrids due to their unusual physiology always had storage of their own blood when they travelled far from home and family. There was also encouraging news in that the surgeon leading the operation was an expert in Vulcan/Terran hybrids being one herself, the famous Doctor Elizabeth Tucker-Crat Shu.

"Also Krie Salas and Rachel are on their way, they are getting ready to beam up to the USS T'Pol. Thanks for pulling those Starfleet strings Admiral. It's much appreciated."

"No strings were needed, Seria is contracted to Starfleet. Besides you know I would do anything for her," replied Pike.

T'Ynise bowed her head knowing exactly what Pike was referring to. The others in the room suspected there was some deep meaning behind the Admiral's words but said nothing.

"What do we know of the assailant? "asked Major T'Zera

"Nothing yet, since I doubt there was much of him left," responded Pike "But he was a Vulcan or at least appeared Vulcanoid."

Gaila and Thren gasped at the news, T'Ynise raised both eyebrows.

"DNA records from the Vulcan citizenship database will identify him," Stolek spoke with ultra confidence.

"If he is indeed Vulcan," replied Minister Selek. All eyes turned on him as he spoke. "It has been my experience in a previous career that other worlds would be more than content to sabotage relations between Vulcan and Starfleet or even Vulcan and the Federation."

Pike considered this and recognised that Selek had a valid point. There would need to be some detailed forensic investigation to found out who the deceased was and if he was an offworlder how he got here and who sent him.

Hours passed as they continued to talk amongst themselves. Once again the door open and in walked Doctor Tucker Crat-Shu. T'Ynise had to stop herself from bowing at her feet. She had only seen Doctor Tucker at medical seminars but never met her. Every Vulcan hybrid owed their existence to her techniques, along with Doctor Phlox who laid the foundation. She looked young for a middle aged woman of 110 years. An attractive woman, with a welcoming face, tall with blue eyes and blonde hair like her father, pointed ears and eyebrows like her mother.

Selek looked at the woman who in his history had died at birth in 2153, the tragic victim of a racist Terran organisation. He had read the history records on how this Elizabeth was saved as a baby. Terra Prime had underestimated the strength of semi-augmented Terran DNA combined with Vulcan DNA. Plus it was believed the nurse Susan Khouri who spilled the beans sabotaged their cloning attempts to kill the baby.

Pike looked at the doctor and hoped she was the miracle worker who would give him good news. He would do anything to save Seria, even give her up to marry Mr Logical if that's what it took.

"Greetings Minister, Admiral, Healer T'Ynise and to your colleagues," spoke the doctor. Well she seems calm thought Pike that is a good sign.

"May I speak to you Healer, somewhere private?" asked Doctor Tucker.

The others stood or moved from their positions and offered to leave the room instead. They decided it was an opportune moment to get refreshments and left the two doctors alone to converse.

It seemed like hours to Pike but it was only fifteen minutes when they returned to find T'Ynise alone sitting in a chair staring blankly at the wall.

No thought Pike, it can't be, don't let it be.

Once again Grell was the first to speak.

"Doctor, how is she, how was the operation?"

T'Ynise stood and looked at them, if Pike did not know better her eyes looked greenish with tears.

"Seria is alive, they have placed her in a healing trance, but …"

"But what, will she make a full recovery?" asked Pike impatiently.

"Yes", answered T'Ynise, "A 'full' recovery, but without the use of her legs."

**AN: Pike was a horse rider as shown in 'The Cage'. I'm not a doctor so there won't be much medical technical jargon. The story will not be sidetracked into a 'whodunnit' tale I will get back on track with the romance just a little bit more angst to come but it won't last long, I promise. Make my day, post some reviews!**


	20. Chapter 20

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date, Late January 2264 – Solkar General Hospital, a room in the Orthopaedic section**

Seria focused on the blows to her face as her consciousness drifted from the darkness of her mind to the surface. She grabbed the hand of the person striking her.

"_Desist, I am awake,"_ her voice was weak but the nurse stopped his actions at the sound of her voice. Seria felt stiff, she realised she was in a hospital bed. She felt the sudden urge to urinate but could not get up.

"_I wish to use the bodily waste facilities," _Seria spoke to the Nurse whose name tag read _Nurse Sikel_

"_You may do so in the bed, you have been fitted with a device for such purposes"_ replied the Nurse, pointing to Seria's side.

Seria touched her right side and felt a small device under her clothing. This time she took notice of herself in the bed, she had on a hospital gown, and her body from the waist down was fitted in some kind of cast. What the cold hell was going on? The last thing she remembered she was running towards Pike warning him about a falling crane. What happened to him, was he alright?

"_Where is Shaltra-lan Pike_? she asked.

"_The Shaltra-lan is in the general waiting area._"

Well that's good news, thought Seria, he must be alright if he's not a patient.

"_What is my injury, how long will I wear this device_?"

"_Healer T'Les will answer your questions_" replied the nurse.

"_Is my family here, I need to speak to them_," Seria looked around for a comm unit. She tried to rise to get access to the storage unit next to her bed. The nurse stepped to her side and told her to stay still; the doctor was on her way and would answer all her questions.

"_I want my Krie T'Ynise K'st Kau contacted as well, she is a Healer. I want access to a comm unit. I need to speak to"…_

Seria stopped talking as the door to her room swooshed open and a tall blonde lady stepped in along with, to her relief T'Ynise and her parents.

XXXXXXX

Salas had to use all his Vulcan mental disciplines when he received the report that his daughter had been seriously injured on New Vulcan. Not only to calm his own feelings, but to be there for his adun'a Rachel who could not stop crying from the time she heard the news. He knew if they lost their only daughter it would shatter her. She considered Seria's birth a miracle after they suffered two miscarriages and one stillborn son. He would never admit it openly but she was probably right, since the probability of a successful pregnancy was not on their side.

Rachel had the added complication of not only being able to carry a fetus of copper based blood but also not rejecting the baby since Rachel was allergic to antirejection drugs for hybrid pregnancies. Fortunately on their fourth try baby Seria was mainly iron based with copper traces and Rachel stubbornly insisted on taking the antirejection drugs, even though it meant her hair fell out and her morning sickness lasted throughout the eleven month pregnancy.

Now here they stood in the hospital, having spoken to Healer Elizabeth T'Les, his former medical school lecturer and eminent colleague.

"Be brave my k'diwa," Salas wiped the tears that fell down Rachel's face. "Our _ko-fu_ is still with us. Also you will cause disarray to the cosmetics on your aesthetically pleasing countenance."

Rachel smiled at her adun's humour which improved over their decades of marriage. "I know, it's just that, not being able to walk or make babies. I know she can adopt or use surrogates and they have amazing computerised gadgets these days for physical disabilities but how will Seria take the news. She will be devastated."

"We will be here to aid her adun'a, for as long as she needs us." Salas replied.

T'Ynise arrived on the scene with Healer Elizabeth. They stepped to the door and entered the room as it swooshed open.

XXXXXXX

8.3%, 12.8%, those figures swirled around Seria's thoughts as she recalled the statistics that the doctor gave her regarding her chances of having children and being able to walk unaided for the rest of her life. She was not sure if it helped that the doctor discussed her situation without the expected cold logical detachment, turned out she was part human herself. She recalled T'Ynise looking at her with sad eyes, her mother looked as if she had been crying and her father. Well he spent most of the time asking questions and probing the doctor for treatments to increase her odds. She knew it was his way to cope with the news so she left him to it. After a time she managed to persuade her parents to leave and gave them the security codes to her apartment. There was no way she would have them staying in a hotel, even if Starfleet was paying.

So here she was with T'Ynise , she had telepathically sent her a message for her to remain behind after her parents left.

"I've put Pike, Shayla, Grell and Falaris down on your authorised visitors list. I hope you don't mind. Pike stayed here all night the time you were admitted (score one for him thought T'Ynise). Shayla is on her way to the colony she should be here tomorrow. And expect my parents and granny T'Anna as well, she will really liven up this place."

"What about Tay'ver, where is he"? Seria asked, it had been two days since the bombing and there was no word from him.

"Oh he's on his way as well, _Krie _Rachel sent him a message. What a way for us to meet" smiled T'Ynise. (Boo for team Tayver thought T'Ynise).

Seria smiled in return, "And my family believes you are the dramatic unconventional one."

"And they are right," responded T'Ynise with a proud lift of her head.

"Any news on who tried to blow up the site?" asked Seria.

"It's too early to say, Pike has Commander Stolek liaising with the police on the case. I can't believe a Vulcan would go to such lengths, totally illogical. What happened to a simple peaceful protest, march around the site with a placard or something saying, 'Please remove your illogical persons from our planet.'"

Seria grinned at T'Ynise joke. Her cousin was doing her best to keep her in good spirits and knew she was not ready to talk about her situation. However she had a joke of her own.

"Well, "she said pointing to the below the half body casts. "At least you won't have a problem getting me legless the next time you want to have a 'night on the town'.

T'Ynise groaned in response.

**Author's Notes: **

**Italics for when Vulcan is being spoken.**

**Seria seems to be taking the news well, don't forget the saying 'laughing on the outside, crying in the inside' exists for a reason.**

**A review a day keeps the fanfiction blues away! Or as a Vulcan might say – A daily evaluation of this illogical, fictional tale will aid the Terran writer's emotional levels.**


	21. Chapter 21

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date 7th February 2264 – Solkar General hospital, Orthopaedic section**

Pike entered the hospital, carrying a _cir-cen_ (cactus like) plant that he bought from a local nursery. Vulcan hospitals did not allow flowers, considering it 'illogical to aid the death of flowering vegetation by cutting them from their stems to present as gifts'. T'Ynise had told him which type of plants Seria liked to have in her apartment. Seeing how the hospital was going to be her home for another week he wanted to make her room look less clinical.

It had been eleven days since the incident. Law enforcement were doing a good job investigating the crime. Commander Stolek was keeping him up to date. The site had become an official crime scene for a few days but now it was back to normal. The terrorist action did not deter any of the workers from returning to work in fact it made them more determined than ever, there were more requests for overtime to make up the delay. Recent polls showed that the naysayers' numbers were declining. It seemed less people wanted to be on the side of the saboteur.

Part of Pike was disappointed the criminal was dead, when he considered what could have happened to Seria, he wanted to strangle the bastard with his bare hands.

Thoughts of Seria increased his mood, he received news that was good for him but sad for Seria. He hoped even for a part Vulcan, time would heal the wound. Her cousin had informed him that seven days ago her bondmate to be showed up. What made him take so long to get there?

Well turned out Tayver was a 'mommy's boy' or a clan matriarch's 'boy'. She told him to pass the information on that she hoped Seria's recovery improved at a logical pace but that due to her physical disabilities and much decreased fertility it would not be logical to continue with the bonding ceremony. Tact was never the average Vulcan's strong suit. Well all hell broke loose in the Maxwell household at that news. Or to be accurate Rachel Maxwell had to be prevented from booking the first shuttle to Nisus or comming the Muhl'es Hakau household and cursing them to high heaven. It was left for Seria's legal Vulcan clan matriarch T'Anna K'st Kau to deal with proceedings. Unknown to the rest of them T'Anna took the liberty of comming Tayver's matriarch and cursing her in High Vulcan before ending her diatribe with '_live long and prosper thou whose appearance is like that of the posterior of a female canine from Terra_.'

At first Seria took the news like a logical Vulcan female, but T'Ynise knew better. Not that she would miss Tayver _per se_ but that her pride was hurt, even if she was in denial and the rejection triggered her human 'woe is me' side. For a few days she refused all visits except from her parents, her cousin and comm calls from her brother. She did not even want to see Shayla. But it seems she was on the mend emotionally since she had expanded her visitors to include friends and colleagues, as well as family.

Pike pressed the palm scanner, Seria answered enter and the door swooshed open.

**AN: Sorry this is a short chapter I just wanted to get rid of Tayver. The road is now clear for Pike to get his woman!**

**T'Anna K'st Kau is not blood related to Seria's family but adopted Salas family into her clan since he was disowned by his Vulcan clan.**

**Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and so are reviewers!**


	22. Chapter 22

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date, Early March 2264 – K'st Kau compound, ****Rok-kahr (Hope Town)**

Seria bowed her head as she completed her Pilates/_Susmanah_ routine for the morning. She along with her physiotherapist, had found a way to combine the Terran exercise with Vulcan movements, for people with limited lower mobility. They had debated whether to call the movements Pilates _V'tosh_ or _V'Tosh_ Pilates. T'Anna wanted to copyright the name and call it Pilates_ K'st Kau_ since the combined movements were created on her land. As far as they knew no one had thought to combine the two despite two hundred years of First Contact between the two cultures.

It had been 35 days since her life had been 'unexpectedly altered' as her therapist had encouraged her to view the situation. Seria met with a psychohealer that T'Ynise said came highly recommended, a Vulcan/Betazoid named Nervela who visited her once a week and told her she was free to comm her whenever she wanted to talk. She was resistant at first but encouraged by her parents and cousin welcomed the sessions. Her father Salas wanted to send her to one of the top rehabilitation centres in the Vulcan system on the Surak colony or even somewhere on Earth but she preferred to stay on New Vulcan. It had been over five months since she left Earth but for some reason New Vulcan was starting to feel more like home and less like a work assignment.

The healers had insisted she had two months of intense physiotherapy and adaptation and any work she wanted to do had to be on a part time basis only. T'Ynise and T'Anna watched over her like Vulcan _haurok_ _shi-kars_ (hawklike birds). They insisted since she did not want to leave the planet and since her home was not yet adapted to suit her needs she move to _Rok'kahr_ until she felt ready to return to her apartment. Her parents were also planning to move to the colony. They had returned to Earth to make the necessary arrangements for a Sabbatical so they could spend time helping their daughter.

Seria knew everything that was being done was totally logical but part of her, maybe her human part, wanted to rebel and tell everyone to leave her alone. Thank God for Christopher, he knew exactly what she was going through. He had been a pillar of strength since her discharge from hospital. Always on the comm, visiting her often, keeping her up to date on the criminal investigation and sharing his experiences about his former medical condition.

He was flying in for his first neuropressure session. As T'Ynise kept reminding her just because her legs were out of action does not mean her arms were as well. That was one person that was never going to let her feel sorry for herself. Everyone needed a T'Ynise in their life.

XXXXXXXX

Admiral Pike willed the shuttle to fly faster as he set the autopilot and navigation for the K'st Kau compound. It had been an intense busy week so he was really looking forward to the weekend there. The short time since he met T'Anna and her clan they made him feel so welcome and a part of the family as if they had known him for years rather than a few months. They even insisted on sending him a care package to his apartment, even if the package consisted of nothing but crates of _Kau_ beer and bottles of Vulcan nut butter. The latter he shared with his staff, the former he kept.

The shuttle cleared the relevant security protocols, things had tightened up since the explosion. The theory was that it was an attempted assassination on his life so any place he was going had increased security. He had insisted on no bodyguards when he was on personal time. It was only the intervention of T'Anna using her government contacts and knowledge that the clan had some of the tightest security in the community why Starfleet loosened its grip…slightly.

Pike walked to the door of the bungalow were Seria was residing and pressed his palm on the scanner. The door made from reinforced English oak opened. He stepped inside.

"I'm in the kitchen", called out Seria.

He followed the voice where Seria sat in her chair by a worktop pouring two glasses of water and cutting a slice of cake.

"_Dif-tor heh smusma" _Pike held his hand up and gave the traditional greeting.

_"Sochya eh diff__" _Seria returned the traditional reply.

_"_You've been baking again, smells great,"Pike reached for a stool and took a seat.

"Yes, T'Anna is trying to turn me into the local baker of Terran cakes and breads. I've been making things for the clan and she has been selling some at the farmer's market. I swear that woman has Ferengi blood in her somewhere." Seria lips quirked.

Pike laughed at the comment. Lady T'Anna was one tough lady. He did not know whether to congratulate or pity whoever she bonded with. But whoever 'he' would be, he would never have a boring marriage. It would take a special type of Vulcan to deal with her.

Seria handed Pike a glass and gave the traditional hospitality greeting "_Namtor kudau k'masu._" (Be blessed by water)

Pike raised his glass and enjoyed the slice of cake.

"Mmm banana cake, how did you get bananas on Vulcan,"

"A farming dome is experimenting with a tropical environment. T'Anna wants to create the Vulcan version of tropical fruits rather than keep importing them. One of her grandsons is an agricultural student and his latest project is to grow Vulcan bananas. They are less sweet than the Earth version and the shape is….. interesting.

Seria held up a 'Vulcan banana' which looked more green than yellow and had a phallic shape.

"See what I mean", Seria responded, trying not to laugh as Pike almost spit out his cake and choked on the water.

"What did Lady T'Anna say when she saw that?" asked Pike.

Seria had a smile on her face as she spoke, "Her response was '_A logical opportunity for us to consider the Orion market._"

Pike roared with laughter as he imagined a crate full of green phallic bananas being passed for inspection by Vulcan customs.

They continued to make small talk. Soon it was time to deal with the main reason for Pike's visit. Was it his imagination but did the room temperature just go up?

Seria wheeled her chair into a smaller room and told Pike to follow. He looked around; it reminded him of Spock's meditation area. The lighting was dim to a reddish glow and incense was burning. Small statutes of ancient Vulcan figurines stood on the shelves. A bed lay in the corner and a stool stood in the middle of the room.

Seria placed herself by the stool and adjusted its height. She turned to face Pike, she removed the shirt she was wearing, revealing a red vest and toned arms.

"Please be seated, but first remove your clothing, except your undergarments."

Pike gulped. He knew what to expect in theory but the idea of being almost naked in front of Seria had Pike junior rising with glee.

He paused as he looked around the room again. "May I use your bathroom?" he requested.

**Author's Notes: **

**Please excuse my ignorance on Seria's medical condition, if I write anything offensive please let me know. It may seem too soon that she can work part time and be on two months medical leave but I am assuming the Vulcan body heals a lot quicker from trauma than the plain old 21****st**** century human one.**

**The hospitality greeting is one I made up.**

**Yes the angst is over, time for some courting and romance!**

**Goodbye Summer, hello Reviews**


	23. Chapter 23

Characters – Pike/OC; Gaila, cameo appearances - Sarek, Spock Prime, Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Romance/Family

Disclaimer – If I could claim Star Trek as my own I would

**Earth date, Early April 2264 – Sherman's place, downtown _Shi'kahr Uzhar _( New Shi'kahr)**

Admiral Pike left his office to walk to his next appointment. His shadows took discrete steps behind him. He thought of them as 'Tweedledum' and 'Tweedledee', they had opposed him walking to 'Sherman's place' where he was meeting Seria for lunch. Because both were Vulcans they could blend into the crowds on the street and not look obvious as _V'Shar _agents since they were dressed in civilian clothes.

It had been four weeks since the neuropressure sessions and he found they did make a world of difference to his health. He slept better at night, had less migraines and his blood pressure was at a level that his doctor found acceptable. This along with regular exercise, well he never felt better! His career was going well, his health was good, the only thing he needed to jump start soon was his love life. And today was as good a day as any to get that started.

T'Ynise continued to give him tips; she told him the tale of how her father courted her mother. Vulcans were culturally direct in their actions, adults did not experience long periods of courtship, although her generation were adopting the human custom of 'dating' or as they called it 'extended periods of social interaction' since more of them were choosing their own mates. The _Va Pak_ left many of them with no clan matriarch to plan their bonding and the Vulcan Family department had no desire to be a permanent matchmaking service for its people. This was one of the many businesses booming on the colony. Online matchmaking sites for unbonded Vulcans. Pike had taken a look out of curiosity, with names like 'Logical Matches', 'Surak's choice' and 'The Dummies guide for Interspecies dating - Vulcan edition'. (The latter being created by a human/vulcan couple). There was a lot of information out there, some of it good and some of it far fetched. Pike knew he needed no help on how to deal with women but admitted it had been a long time since he pursued a woman for a committed, exclusive relationship.

XXXXXXXXX

Seria drove her aircar to 'Sherman's Place' restaurant from her hospital appointment. She had been given the all clear; she was no longer an outpatient at the Solkar General hospital. However her doctor had recommended she sign up for a new experimental treatment programme for persons with her condition to improve the mobility in her legs. Doctor Tucker Crat-Shu considered her an ideal candidate. It was to be headed by a new doctor and his team. Seria replied she would read the material sent to her computer about the treatment and give her answer that week.

As she wheeled into the restaurant, she gave her name to a staff member who led her to a private room with a balcony that overlooked the restaurant gardens. Pike was waiting inside, outside the door his bodyguards stood sentry.

After swapping greetings they took to looking at the menu.

"This is an interesting choice," Seria looked around. It was a new restaurant serving Klingon and Terran cuisine. The décor was a mixture of Earth tastes from the Asian region and Klingon tastes.

"Yes one of the other surprises from the Organian peace treaty," replied Pike.

The Organian peace treaty was a result of the war in 2256 between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The USS Archer beamed down to Organia believing it to be a stagnant, preindustrial society vulnerable to Klingon attack. Captain Threll of Andoria and his Tokranite First Officer Wreeves attempted to help the Organians. However turned out their help was not needed after all.

"It's an interesting and clever solution to peace, forcing enemies to run businesses and a planet together" spoke Seria. "The owners of this place have to share their profits and any attempts to sabotage the business will result in loss of ownership and all profits going to the other party."

"Yeah clever solution. I can see why the Vulcans gave them the permits to open here. I just hope it works," responded Pike.

"You don't think it will work?" asked Seria, "I have not read any bad news about Sherman's planet or this restaurant."

They continued to talk politics as they ordered their meal and drank their drinks. Pike was willing to follow Vulcan custom of silence at a meal but Seria was all for following human norms. The topic turned onto more personal matters.

"So apart from spending time protecting the Vulcan system, being saluted and nursing me. What else do you do?" asked Seria.

"Well for one I'm not nursing you. I'm spending time with a friend," replied Pike.

"But you have been spending a lot of time at _Rok-kahr. _Don't you have a 'lady friend' who wants to see you more often?" Seria probed.

"Is this your roundabout way of asking me if I'm in a romantic relationship?" Pike smiled as he raised his glass of blood wine to take a sip.

"Are you?" asked Seria.

"I'm working on it," Pike answered.

Seria's nosiness got the better of her; she knew T'Ynise and Pike were in contact. He visited the K'st Kau compound every week and not just for neuropressure sessions.

"Is it T'Ynise you're working on?" she queried.

Pike decided rather than continue teasing her with vague answers; he'd use this as an opportunity to lay his cards on the table.

"Not at all, we're just friends. She reminds me of my younger sister, Charlie; generous, caring, well-intentioned and a bit bossy."

Seria let out a breath she did not realise she was holding as she cut up her vegesteak and vegan _gagh._ She did not want to consider why it mattered to her that Pike not be interested in her cousin. T'Ynise was looking for a spouse just as she had been and Pike was an eligible single man. Anyone would be blessed to have her.

"Actually I'm working on you," Pike stretched out his hand and rested it on her wrist. Seria almost dropped her cutlery in surprise.

"So what are my chances?" asked Pike "Zero percent, 14.8 percent, 76.2 percent?"

Seria looked up at him from her meal. For a moment she wondered if this was some kind of joke but she could read his sincerity as he touched her wrist. She knew he was attracted to her from their first meeting and they had come a long way from a point of suspicion to friendship in their relationship.

"80 per cent" Seria answered.

Pike wanted to jump for joy at her response but he was curious about her reply.

"What's the other 20 per cent for?" he asked curiously

"Well I don't know if you're a good kisser yet.. among other things," Seria replied shyly and in a teasing tone.

"We can answer part of that right now." Pike sassed back at her.

He rose from his seat and knelt next to Seria. He could see her light brown eyes darken in anticipation. He licked his lips and pressed them to her much warmer ones. Her lips were soft. He stroked his tongue across them as she parted her mouth and allowed him to pry them apart gently. Their tongues tangled as he tasted her. He heard something, was she purring? Wow it was an erotic sound. He remembered where they were and pulled his head back, as he did so her head moved with his lips as he ended the kiss.

Seria smiled as she looked into his grey eyes sparkling with delight. He was one heck of a kisser. If that kiss did nothing else it proved one thing. The healers and T'Ynise were right, sure her legs were immobile but other parts of her body were in working order as she could testify to the sensation between her thighs.

She doubted they would have major issues with 'other things'.

**Author's Notes: **

**Yes they have kissed at last!**

**According to Memory Alpha in STID the Organian peace treaty was in place prior to 2259, which makes Admiral Marcus plot to start war with the Klingons even more despicable.**

**Klingon – Federation War of 2256, I made this date up, in the Prime world it took place in 2267. The USS Enterprise landed on the planet with Kirk and Spock as the landing party (TOS – Errand of Mercy)**

**V'Shar – Vulcan intelligence and security agency**

**I'm home with all the symptoms of an annoying cold, reviews will cheer me up!**


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